Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich visited today (Monday) the Ashkelon municipal council and met with Mayor Tomer Glam.
"We are in a very difficult event for all of us and now we are first of all trying to win. As someone who was in Ashkelon in previous rounds, this time the challenge and the unequivocal goal is the dissolution of Hamas. I do not want to meet in this war room again. We are neither in 'another round' nor in an 'operation', we are in a war whose unequivocal goal is to completely wipe out the rule of Hamas and the terrorist organizations in Gaza. Yes, the demilitarization of Gaza," Smotrich said.
He added that "on top of that, we must cause a very significant mental scar to our enemies and to anyone who thinks of touching us. They must know that the price is unbearable and that they will remember it for years to come. There are many things that we as a government and as an army need to do and there is your role in the local government and this is the time for resilience, cohesion, and to foster great faith in the righteousness of our actions and national pride. The Eternal One of Israel will not act falsely. The attacks on Gaza will increase and intensify in the coming hours and days and they will be on completely different scales. We will do it and we will succeed."
Prior to that, the minister visited the Tax Authority's Ashkelon hotline together with the head of the tax authority, Shai Aharonovitch, and the director of property tax, Amir Dahan. During the visit, the minister closely monitored the activities of the hotline, which is providing an increased response to victims of direct damage. "As Minister of Finance, I am working to ensure the resilience of the Israeli economy and the Israeli economy and to maintain the strength of the Israeli economy even in times of war. I spoke today with the governor of the Bank of Israel and we set up an economic war room with the participation of all department heads and professionals," said Smotrich.
He added, "We know how to provide all the backing and all the budgets required for the benefit of the campaign to bring about victory, and at the same time provide a quick response without unnecessary bureaucracy, without long and cumbersome forms, and without a long wait for every citizen and every small or large business owner whose property was damaged as a result of the war."
"I call on everyone, anyone who needs an appeal - to contact the property tax compensation fund at *4954 to forward your appeal, and I will personally make sure that it is dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible," he concluded.