In the past two weeks, criticism of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and his ministry for not transferring the funds has intensified. At a recent meeting of a party forum, he spoke extensively about what was happening in his office, and in a closed forum criticized the budget department, attorney generals and bureaucrats who, he said, were "killing him."
According to Smotrich: "We have actually been in war mode for a month. From that black Shabbat of Simchat Torah, that already on that Shabbat we traveled and opened war rooms and cabinets, etc. Unfortunately, we encounter a lot of obstacles, officials, regulations and jurists who take our souls out with a spoon, I say this with regret."
Gaza village two weeks after the beginning of the fighting // Photo: Shmuel Buchris
"In normal times it's terrible, a huge bureaucratic mechanism has been created that has to justify its own existence, it creates problems all day long to solve them. But in any case, they don't understand that in war you have to switch to a different mode, first shooting and then interrogating. This is unacceptable!"
"The public doesn't want excuses"
On the budget for ZAKA, Smotrich said: "In the first week I wanted to transfer money to ZAKA. I said, friends, please transfer five billion shekels to ZAKA. There is no need to elaborate on why, right? They started telling me stories about support tests and saying how many bodies they treated, how many kilometers they drove each body and how much nylon they used. Are you crazy? These righteous people will not now deal with paperwork for a minute. Three weeks put us through a torturous journey and in the end they released something down front."
Smotrich added, "The fact that a finance minister is not authorized to make a decision at the push of a button to transfer five billion shekels to ZAKA is delusional. ZAKA is an NGO that is reviewed every year. And let's say we gave more, they don't run away for anything. Now it's true in the funds transferred to the residents, it's true in the funds transferred to the authorities, it's true in the grants, it's true in the compensation magnates."
Ruins in the village of Gaza, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Regarding the civilian UAV he established, Smotrich said: "Take another example, I have been having to establish a civilian UAV for two weeks now, appoint a project that will be one clear voice for the public. I'm being killed by the commission, the legal advisers, committees and whatnot. I'm not saying this to the public, I'm not going out with it because the public doesn't want excuses right now. Not looking to hold anyone accountable. I am responsible. I will be held accountable."
Smotrich demanded that the funds be released due to the loss of trust in the public: "You see, the government is working, but unfortunately the system still does not understand the incident and that money must be poured on the public. I really appreciate the professionals in the Ministry of Finance, but they don't understand that we have to let go of the role of treasurers and say that in war it works differently. Guys - release money. After the terrible loss of trust in the basic existence of people who spent dozens of hours in the safe room massacring them, trust must be restored."
"The state needs to pour money, we're dealing with it, we'll solve it," Smotrich said in conclusion. "We are finalizing the legislation of the compensation outline. Businesses will receive compensation up to 40 kilometers in the south and we are also working on the north. That's the kind of lesson you have to do at six after the war and try to correct."
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