Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich presented journalists with his principles and demands for the next coalition.
At the outset, Smotrich addressed his political demands and said: “In the next coalition agreement, I will demand the Israel Land Authority and the Planning Administration. If we also have enough seats, Rothman will be Justice Minister."
He also issued an explicit warning to employees of the authorities and professional officials. “I will remove from the Israel Land Authority and the Planning Administration all the anti-Zionist elements who try to stop the plan, and they will be thrown out."
Smotrich then revealed details from a recent security tour and proposed tougher penalties. “I was at a Shin Bet facility this week and received a briefing according to which there are more than one million illegal weapons, including MAG machine guns, assault rifles, and explosive charges. We need to legislate that anyone possessing illegal weapons will be charged with terrorism offenses and sent to prison for ten years. The offense of arms trafficking should carry a sentence of 20 years in prison. We will expand Israel’s prisons because we are going to put thousands of people in prison."
Regarding planning and settlement, the Finance Minister declared: “We will cancel the plans and expansion of Arab communities that are choking Jewish settlement-it is time for affirmative action for Jews. Who will vote against this plan? Only the Arabs, and perhaps the lunatics from Yair Golan’s party."
“This will cost much less than any other plan," he said. “The next October 7 in the Galilee will cost a million times more."
Finally, the Finance Minister rejected criticism of the allocation of resources during his tenure, describing as “a false claim" the assertion that he had acted only on behalf of Judea and Samaria.
“The budget for the Gaza envelope, the north, the Galilee, and the south that I transferred as Finance Minister is a thousand times greater than the budget for Judea and Samaria," Smotrich said.