Israel nearly applied sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria during the previous government, Religious Zionist Party chief Bezalel Smotrich said.
Speaking with Israel National News during a conference hosted by the youth wing of the Sovereignty Movement in Jerusalem Thursday, Smotrich argued that applying Israeli law to large swaths of Judea and Samaria is feasible, and was nearly accomplished during the most recent Netanyahu government.
“Sovereignty is very doable. We were very close to applying sovereignty, and when we return with a nationalist government we will turn the dream into a reality.”
“But for that to happen, we need to talk about it over and over again, and to continue to push for sovereignty over all parts of the Land of Israel. And when it happens, it will be because of the people who were always dedicated to it. You don’t turn dreams into reality through weakness and fear.”
Like the Likud and other right-wing factions in the Opposition, Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party has vowed to vote against the Bennett government’s bid to extend the ‘Judea and Samaria Law’, a temporary measure passed by the Knesset every five years to apply Israeli law to Area C of Judea and Samaria, via the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration.
The arrangement has been adopted by Israel for decades, in lieu of the direct application of Israeli sovereignty over the area.
While right-wing lawmakers have backed the Judea and Samaria Law in the past, Opposition MKs see the government’s likely failure to pass it as a humiliating defeat for a coalition already edging towards collapse.
Smotrich explained his party’s support for the decision to vote down the bill.
“Values and ideology don’t contradict politics. The political system is what shapes the values and character of the State of Israel. As far as I’m concerned, the political system is an extension of ideological work.”
“Right now we have a terrible government that is dangerous for the Jewish, democratic state. This government hurts its Jewish character; it denies its basic existence as a Jewish state. That leads to damage to national security, personal security, the Sabbath, Kashrut, the conversion system, and the family.”
“This government is terrible for the settlement enterprise and it has brought Mahmoud Abbas back to life, along with the payments to terrorists. The most important thing is bringing down this government and replacing it with a good government which will push the settlements forward.”