Bezalel Smotrich

Mosque set on fire near Nablus, Australian teen attacked

The Jerusalem Post's must-listen news roundup with Shifra Jacobs—the top stories, clear and concise. 

A Palestinian man, holding Misbaha prayer beads, inspects the debris at a mosque, which Palestinians say was damaged by Israeli settlers, in West Bank village of Surra, near Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 23, 2026.
Finance Minister and Head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, February 16, 2026.

Business owners protest at Knesset as Smotrich raises Israel's import tax exemption

Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu's political opposition must present clear policies - opinion

A Palestinian man walks past a fence decorated with Israeli flags installed by Jewish settlers in the northern West Bank. The de facto annexation of the West Bank is the natural byproduct of a political system where words are cheap and real power operates without transparency, the writer says.

Israel creeps toward West Bank annexation as election season approaches - opinion


Smotrich, Netanyahu quarrel over law banning release of senior terrorists during exchange deals

The absence of such a law places "every Israeli citizen, at home and abroad, under a real threat of abduction," argued Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Finance Minister and Head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, February 16, 2026.

UN Chief Guterres condemns Gov't decision to reopen land registry in West Bank, calling it illegal

"The decision could lead to the dispossession of Palestinians of their property and risks expanding unlawful Israeli control over land in the area," Guterres wrote in a statement on X.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses delegates during a high-level meeting of heads of state on a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians at United Nations headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 22, 2025.

Finance Minister Smotrich says he won't educate his daughter to enlist in the IDF

The statement, made during a Religious Zionist Party Knesset press conference, comes as the government fast-tracks a haredi conscription bill.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (RZP) speaks at a Religious Zionist Party press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem on February 16, 2026.

Gov't approves new international airport in Israel's South, amid Ben-Gurion congestion concerns

Israel will build a new international airport in southern Israel at Ziklag, alongside a northern airport, as officials warn Ben Gurion is nearing capacity.

The government approved on Sunday the establishment of a new international airport in southern Israel, finalizing its location to be built in the Negev's Ziklag area.

Gov’t approves 2nd weekly move to reorder West Bank

Most of the world has slammed the West Bank changes, but the PM has faced little public pushback from Trump himself.

An Israeli flag flutters, with Ma'aleh Adumim is visible in the background, in the West Bank, August 14, 2025.

Haredi draft bill could trigger 'collapse' of Israel's Right in elections, aliyah minister warns

The aliyah minister asserted in December that he would vote against the proposed haredi draft law even at the risk of being dismissed from the government, calling the current outline "shameful.

Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer holds a press conference at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, December 1, 2025.

Knesset votes to split Arrangements Bill amid haredi parties' threats over state budget

The two parties threatened to vote against the coalition amid disagreements over the controversial haredi draft bill being advanced in the Knesset.

MK's Moshe Gafni and Yitzchak Goldknopf seen during a vote on the state budget at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, January 28, 2026.

Security Cabinet approves measures expanding Israeli control in West Bank

Newly approved measures will remove land-sale restrictions, expand enforcement in Areas A and B, and renew state-led land acquisition in the West Bank.

View of the Judean desert, in the West Bank, February 6, 2026.

As Iran distracts Trump, Netanyahu leaves Smotrich, Katz to announce West Bank changes - analysis

The process of gradual annexation of the West Bank has been underway in small or medium steps since 2023 and has accelerated since Netanyahu fired Gallant in November 2024.

Israeli military vehicles move along a road next to a concrete barrier close to the village of Beit Awwa near Hebron in the West Bank

Israel’s milk crisis is man-made, quotas are to blame - opinion

Dairy farmers and consumers will be the ones who win from Smotrich's reforms; it is the small interest groups that wish to keep the status quo.

FARMERS AND their supporters protest outside the Knesset in Jerusalem against a milk reform promoted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in Jerusalem on February 4, 2026.