"We will defeat terrorism, this is our first obligation as a government. I come to talk to you because we must be accountable to the citizens of Israel": Bezalel Smotrich arrived Thursday morning at the Maccabim checkpoint on Route 443, where a vehicular attack took place in which a young Israeli was killed and five others were wounded.
Three of the wounded were IDF soldiers. One of the soldiers was seriously wounded and two others sustained minor injuries. The terrorist who was driving the truck continued driving towards the Hashmona'im crossing and was killed by Defense Ministry security guards.
Documentation from the scene at Maccabim Checkpoint // Use under section 27A of the Copyright Law, documentation of MDA operations
"This is a difficult morning, I send condolences to the family of the victim," the minister said. "We see the importance of checkpoints. We must wage a war on terror with all our might, and we will defeat terrorism and restore personal security to civilians."
The journalists reminded Smotrich of statements he had made in the past, during the Bennett-Lapid government, in which he promised to fight terrorism. "This is what a loss of security looks like," Smotrich once lashed out while sitting in the opposition, "day after day, Jews are being persecuted in our country by terrorists. Go out and vote to defeat terrorism and restore personal security."
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The minister responded to journalists who asked for his comment on the rising wave of terrorism: "I tell you responsibly, we act differently and we will continue to act differently, and we will defeat terrorism especially when we cut off its hope and motivations. Most of you don't like what we're doing in Judea and Samaria, but in the end it's the real key that will cut off the hope of terror and the perpetrators of terror, and make it clear that for every attack we exact a very significant price in continuing to build and hold on to the settlements."
"We are not prepared under any circumstances to accept terrorism as a decree of fate," Smotrich continued. "The citizens of Israel will not continue to live in a situation in which once every few days we bury our dead in the face of cruel murderers. There is a terror-supporting environment here, there is incitement. There is a Palestinian Authority here that takes responsibility for this, there is an entire system here that must be managed even in an uncompromising struggle against those involved in terror, and we must demonstrate and make it clear to our enemies that when they try to harm us, they only strengthen our hold on all parts of the homeland."
Zarit the attack at the Maccabim checkpoint,
Defense Minister Yoav Galant assessed the situation following the vehicular attack at the Maccabim checkpoint, and will assess the situation with senior defense officials. Galant said: "Sending my condolences to the family of the person killed in the vehicular attack this morning, and wishing the wounded a full recovery. This is an attack with severe consequences, full appreciation to the security forces for their determined action that led to the elimination of the terrorist within a short time."
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