Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich commented on the expressions of support for the terrorist who carried out the attack near the City of David archaeological site in Jerusalem, and said that laws must be enacted that will harm the families of terrorists in order to increase deterrence.
"If the terrorist's entire family were deported to Gaza without an identity card and without social rights, their home would be destroyed and their property would be confiscated and transferred to the families of the victims of the attack - no one would be proud of the terrorist and what he did to his family," Smotrich wrote on Twitter.
He added, "This is the direction we are going in and with God's help we will enact it as soon as possible. Looking forward to support in the Knesset from across the board."
Kan 11 News published quotes from Saturday night's Cabinet meeting in which Smotrich said, "We need to change the equation. This is our mandate. People elected us to take big steps."
According to the report, Minister Itamar Ben Gvir demanded during that meeting that a curfew be imposed on the Shuafat neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem, while Smotrich proposed that the neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem be encircled. The defense establishment objected to this on the grounds that it was a collective punishment and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Ronen Bar conveyed a message to the ministers that these moves could lead to a wider escalation.
According to sources familiar with the matter, security officials claimed during the Cabinet meeting that the last time Israel took punitive measures against Shuafat, this only resulted in an increase in attacks.
Cabinet ministers refused to comment on the report. The Shin Bet stated, "We regret the leaks from the Cabinet discussion and do not comment on what was said in closed discussions."