Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant on Sunday, demanding that they hold an urgent discussion in the political-security cabinet on the issue of "continuing to abandon the security of the settlers in Judea and Samaria."
In the letter, Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry, wrote that he had approached the two several times in recent weeks, personally and as part of cabinet discussions, with a demand to "shake up the security concept in Judea and Samaria at this time, with an emphasis on the need to create sterile security spaces around the towns and roads and prevent Arabs from entering them, including for the purpose of harvesting."
"This is important for at least three purposes: first, security and preventing the rapprochement of Arabs who might exploit it for attacks," he added. "Second, a sense of security given the great sensitivity in the public and the recruitment of many men to the reserves, which leaves women and children alone. Third, preventing friction that could lead to a conflagration in the sector, which causes us great international damage."
Smotrich's letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Galant
He said that in recent discussions on the issue, "it seemed that this line was agreed," and also claimed that in a discussion held before the cabinet meeting last week in cooperation with Netanyahu, Galant, Chief of Staff Halevi, Shin Bet chief Bar and other officials, the prime minister instructed the chief of staff to examine the issue – but this is not the case. "Absurdly, not only has the policy not been changed, but the Central Command is exempting, enabling and even requiring the harvest to be carried out, while investing a great deal of forces in this mission," he wrote.
The minister continued: "With all due respect, this is madness that I am not willing to put up with any more. It is impossible to claim on the one hand a shortage of forces, to demand the transfer of funds to the Palestinian Land in order to prevent a deterioration that would require forces – and then to waste forces on such a dangerous absurdity. It cannot be argued that the incidents of friction undermine war efforts and international legitimacy, nor do we do the minimum necessary to reduce them to the minimum possible by creating security spaces."
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Galant (archive), photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO
"Someone got lost and the writing is already on the wall, and with all due respect – I'm not willing to be part of it," he added. "For months I cried out in the cabinet and was met with contempt and silencing. We are all paying the price today. Not anymore. I will not agree to more blood being spilled on my responsibility and conscience for insisting on not changing distorted perceptions and not internalizing the lessons of Simchat Torah events in Judea and Samaria as well."
At the end of his letter, the minister demanded that the political echelon immediately issue an order to the IDF to create wide security zones around those communities and routes, "and prevent Arabs from approaching them," and also to schedule a cabinet meeting to be held this week in which the IDF "will present its deployment in Judea and Samaria in detail, with an emphasis on the reference scenario of a reversal of the bowl by the Palestinian Authority."
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