Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was a guest on the “Patriots” program this evening (Tuesday), and addressed the agreement being formed between the US and Iran, making it clear in no uncertain terms: Israel will not be subject to external dictates, and the campaign in Lebanon will continue without compromise, while supporting the Prime Minister’s position vis-à-vis the American administration and clarifying that “there will be no retreat, neither on Friday nor after.”
At the beginning of the interview, Minister Smotrich presented the security situation in the north as an unprecedented success. According to him, the IDF has completed a thorough cleanup of terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon, in a manner that has never been done since the establishment of the state.
Photo: IDF Spokesperson
Smotrich said, “We maintain complete freedom of action in Lebanon. There is a large, wide, sterile and clean security zone there. We now control the Nabataean Plateau, and the IDF is prepared to continue to exert pressure on Hezbollah.” When asked about the Iranian threats and the demand for a withdrawal by Friday, he replied firmly: “There will be no withdrawal, neither by Friday nor after Friday.”
The minister emphasized that Israel will not be satisfied with tactical achievements alone, but will maintain its presence as long as Hezbollah is not disarmed. “We will remain in southern Lebanon, we will deepen the achievement there. We will remain there for a long time, eight, nine, ten kilometers. The instructions to the units are to continue to remove any threat.”
Smotrich openly admitted that there is a real crisis in relations between Jerusalem and the US president, but stressed that this is a natural part of conducting foreign policy for a sovereign state. “There are real differences of opinion. The challenge is knowing how to stand your ground while preserving achievements. The prime minister takes care of US interests, we take care of ours.”
Regarding the criticism that Israel has “stopped” in its attacks, Smotrich rejected it outright and attacked the opposition: “All these populists who ran a reckless campaign — if we had listened to Eisenkot and all these guys, we would have fought without occupying Rafah, without eliminating Sinwar, Nasrallah and Khamenei. We have achieved tremendous achievements, we have taken Iran back, and we will continue to do what is necessary.”
Referring to the Gaza Strip, Smotrich presented an unequivocal position regarding the ultimate goal: “Gaza will be ruins, there is no reconstruction without demilitarization. We need to destroy Hamas.” When asked about the settlement issue, he said: “My position is known. Reality shows that there is no settlement in the long term, there is no army. I estimate that it will happen — we will do this in Gaza as well, because this is the Land of Israel and there is no security without it.” He added that liberating land is the key to burning a sense of victory against the enemy.
Regarding the internal tensions in the coalition over the conscription law, Smotrich presented a complex approach: on the one hand, support in principle for the draft of Haredim, and on the other hand, strong opposition to the arrests: “This incident is painful. The Haredi public is in great distress with the arrests. It is terrible and terrifying to see roadblocks and violence — it is designed to tear us apart from within. I support the Haredi because in my opinion it is a delusion to think that arrests will recruit anyone. Let’s wait, go to the elections together, win and solve the problems together.” The minister rejected the claims that he did not make concessions to the Haredi and emphasized his commitment to preserving the bloc: “I preserved the bloc in the coalition and in the opposition. I think the alternative of the Bennett-Eisenkot government is much more dangerous — they will bury the Sabbath, conversion and kashrut under a leftist legal dictatorship.”
At the end of the interview, Smotrich summarized his work at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense: “A great achievement is the revolution in Judea and Samaria — over a hundred new settlements. Yesterday we approved Duran, which guarantees the security strip for the Lachish region and Kiryat Gat. The challenge for the next coalition is to continue this revolution, copy it to the Negev and the Galilee, and complete the reform of the judicial system to ensure that even if the left returns to power, it will not be able to destroy what we have built in 30 years.”