Finance Minister and Defense Ministry Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Monday evening that the Defense Ministry has completed planning for three communities in northern Gaza and can begin construction immediately, pending the Prime Minister’s approval.
Smotrich made the announcement after meeting with Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi. “The Administration under my leadership in the Defense Ministry has completed the staff work, and we are ready to establish three communities immediately the moment we get the green light from the prime minister,” he said. “I call on the prime minister to give the approval, let’s complete the mission and restore real security to the residents of the south.”
1+Smotrich also addressed the ongoing fighting in Gaza and stressed the need to complete the conquest of territory still held by Hamas. “The IDF currently controls nearly 70% of the Gaza Strip. We need to complete the conquest of the remaining territory, defeat Hamas, and establish a strip of Jewish communities that will serve as a security belt for Sderot and the Gaza envelope communities. Where there is no Jewish presence, there is no security. We are not returning to the reality before October 7,” he said.
1+Smotrich thanked Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi for his leadership during the war and his fight for the security of area residents. Davidi welcomed the remarks and said: “Finance Minister, thank you for everything you’ve done for the envelope. I was also one of those who called you and said: ‘Bezalel, fight,’ so that we wouldn’t stop the fighting until we push the threat away from Sderot and the envelope. This is the minimum required for the area’s residents to live in security.”