Bezalel Smotrich

As Israel pushes back, Gaza becomes testing ground for emerging post-war governance - analysis

The emergence of a Palestinian technocratic governing committee alongside Trump’s US-backed Board of Peace has triggered sharp Israeli backlash, exposing cabinet rifts and deep unease.

Palestinians stand near the rubble in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 17, 2026
 MK Gadi Eisenkot attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on the ultra-Orthodox draft law at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on June 24, 2024.

Gadi Eisenkot: Netanyahu ceded Gaza security, IDF must return to fighting

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich after a press conference at the ministry, December 4, 2025; illustrative.

Government submits 2026 budget to Knesset, Smotrich vows passage despite rifts

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich seen after a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on December 4, 2025.

Smotrich: Thank you Trump for the help, but now Israel needs to control Gaza


PMO workers involved in Qatargate 'must sit behind bars,' Smotrich says

Smotrich charged that Qatar is a state sponsor of terror, adding that Doha must be condemned for its "responsibility for what happened on October 7."

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrives to a conference of the Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon in Jerusalem, December 25, 2025

Smotrich urges Netanyahu to return from US ‘with de-facto sovereignty’ for West Bank

He cited settlement construction and administrative work as part of recent advances, adding that without a cabinet decision to apply sovereignty, Israel risks missing a “historic opportunity.”

Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich and Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Head Israel Ganz at ceremony marking official transfer of Civil Administration service units to permanent civilian complex, December 23, 2025.

'Smotrich is taking us hostage': Small-business owners protest new VAT, customs exemptions

Protesters also warned of the economic implications of the move for local commerce, employment, and business stability in Israel, saying that the move “will be remembered in infamy."

Small-business owners protest outside the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem against the import reform and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, December 23, 2025.

Palestinian trash burning is a national security threat, ministers Katz, Smotrich declare

Reportedly, the Palestinians lack sufficient local landfills, and the arrangement is supposed to involve them using trucks to transport their trash to other locations.

 Fire at illegal trash dumping ground caused dangerous air pollution level in Binyamin region of the West Bank, on August 7, 2023.

Israel grants legal status to 19 West Bank settlements, including two vacated in 2005 disengagement

The move follows government approval on Wednesday for the construction of 764 housing units across three settlements in the West Bank.

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

Sa'ar announces forum with worldwide Jewish leaders to address growing antisemitism

Leaders from Jewish communities and organizations worldwide will participate in the J-50 Forum, to be held in Jerusalem from December 21 to 24.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks during a ceremony at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, September 15, 2025

'Writing was on the wall': Israeli politicians condemn Bondi Beach mass shooting

"Our hearts are with the community, and we stand with them," Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer said at the event honoring lone soldiers at the President's Residence in Jerusalem.

A woman holds a child in a blanket after a shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025. Australian police said two people were in custody following reports of multiple gunshots on December 14 at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach, urging the public to take shelter

Likud returns to support levels from before October 7, RZP fails to pass threshold, poll finds

Religious Zionist Party, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, slid under the threshold with 2.8% support, as public divisions over the IDF draft framework and the state budget grew. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a 40 signatures debate, at the plenum hall of the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on December 8, 2025

Smotrich approves hundreds of housing units in multiple West Bank settlements

The units will be spread out between Hashmonaim, just over the Green Line in central Israel, and Givat Zeev and Beitar Illit near Jerusalem.

 A construction site of a new residential neighborhood at the mixed religious-secular Jewish settlement in the West Bank Kfar Adumim, March 9, 2023.

Knesset FADC extends emergency draft for 280,000 IDF reservists until January 1

FADC Chairman Boaz Bismuth said he pushed to approve the extension after Defense Minister Israel Katz said it was necessary for the country's national security.

 Reservist exercise in the North. January 17, 2024