Opposition party chief threatens to defund settlements if Netanyahu loses power

Head of the left-wing The Democrats party says that if an alternative government is formed after this year’s Knesset election, Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria will be stripped of all funding.

By World Israel News Staff

The head of an opposition party in the Knesset vowed this week that if the right-wing coalition currently governing Israel is replaced in this year’s election with an alternative, center-left government, Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria will be completely defunded.

Former Deputy Minister Yair Golan, who before entering politics was a career IDF officer and had served as deputy IDF chief of staff, spoke with Galei Tzahal radio on Monday, declaring that as partners in a new coalition government, his The Democrats faction would not permit funding of Israeli towns beyond the Green Line.

“If we gain power, we will not transfer money to the settlements; the time has come to lay down a new set of priorities in Israel,” Golan said.

Since 2024, Golan has served as chairman of The Democrats party, a merger of the left-wing Labor Party and the far-left Meretz faction, after the latter failed to cross the electoral threshold in 2022, leaving Golan out of the Knesset.

Golan doubled down on his pledge Monday, writing on his X account: “It’s time to return the money to the working citizens, to the working communities, to the neighborhoods. Smotrich’s economy needs to come to an end.”

The comments drew criticism from both the right and the left, with former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who currently serves as opposition leader, urging Golan to “take back” his criticism of Israelis living in Judea and Samaria.

“The settlers are Israeli citizens,” Lapid said.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who was the target of Golan’s X post, excoriated the former lawmaker for attacking Israelis living in Judea and Samaria, noting that the community has contributed disproportionately to the IDF’s combat units.

“So, from Yair Golan’s perspective, the settlers of Judea and Samaria aren’t working citizens; the settlements are contributing. They only enlisted [in the IDF] and died in this war in disproportionate numbers relative to their share of the population.”

“But don’t worry—with God’s help, Golan and his partners in the incitement government will never return to power and will not stir up strife and discord here. The people of Israel simply won’t let that happen.”

2026 Israeli electionKnessetYair Golan