Bezalel Smotrich is a far-right Israeli lawmaker and leader of the Religious Zionist Party, who currently serves as the country's finance minister as well as a minister in the Defense Ministry. In the past, Smotrich also served as transportation minister.
Smotrich is a highly divisive figure in Israeli politics, having been accused of racism, extremism, and homophobia. Smotrich has also gone on record saying that he is a "proud homophobe," staunch support for Israel's West Bank settlements, and rejects both the future existence of a Palestinian state as well as the existence of the Palestinian people.
Israeli officials expressed their joy at Alexander's return, but noted that returning the remaining 58 hostages from Hamas captivity was of the upmost priority.
“We are finally going to occupy the Gaza Strip. We will stop being afraid of the word occupation,’” Smotrich declared.
The Omer and Samaria regional councils announced the date and times for the funerals.
Just one day earlier, Smotrich wrote a letter to teachers, assuring them that rumors of government members receiving a pay raise are false.
Smotrich claimed there were necessary budget cuts across multiple sectors as a result of the war's growing cost.
The Israeli Climate Forum sent an urgent letter to Netanyahu in early March, warning of the urgent need for emergency preparedness.
A national reset will not happen while Yoav Kisch lectures hostage families, Bezalel Smotrich berates the IDF, and Benjamin Netanyahu clings to power through blame.
Netanyahu is trying to walk a tightrope between avoiding new problems with the ICJ and new problems with Smotrich threatening to topple his coalition.
IDF Chief Zamir opposed soldiers distributing aid, to which Finance Minister Smotrich responded, "The IDF doesn’t choose its own missions."
The political leadership - including the prime minister, defense minister, and chief of staff - prefers to exhaust efforts toward a hostage deal.
JPOST Digital Library
