Smotrich urges sweeping counterterror measures amid surge in attacks

Smotrich also called for a crackdown on anti-Israel incitement, accusing the Palestinian Authority of encouraging terror and violence through its education system.

By Akiva Van Koningsveld, Amelie Botbol, JNS

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday called for far-reaching counter-terrorism measures, including expanding military operations in Judea and Samaria, as well as dismantling the Palestinian Authority and tougher enforcement against Israelis who employ Palestinians illegally.

“In my view, which has been well known for many years, terrorism is a product of hope. When we cut off that hope, there will be no future for terrorism,” Smotrich told JNS, speaking at the faction meeting of his Religious Zionism Party at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Monday.

The hope of the Palestinians is the destruction of the Jewish state through “establishing a terrorist state, which would be the first stage on the road to our destruction, God forbid,” according to the right-wing minister.

The more Jerusalem consolidates control of “all parts of the homeland,” including Judea and Samaria, “the more we cut off this hope, somewhat in the spirit of Jabotinsky’s Iron Wall, resulting in less terrorism,” he said.

Smotrich’s remarks came days after a Palestinian terrorist murdered two Israeli civilians and wounded two others in a series of attacks in and around the northern city of Beit She’an.

The assailant in all four attacks—identified as a 37-year-old Palestinian who was working illegally in pre-1967 Israel—fled using his employer’s car after the killing spree and was later shot and arrested.

The attack came amid a wave of car-rammings, stabbings and shootings targeting both Israeli soldiers and civilians throughout Judea and Samaria.

Smotrich on Monday urged personal responsibility, warning all Israelis against employing infiltrators. Doing so was not only illegal, he said, but implicated employers in the case of an attack.

“Do not employ illegal residents,” he said. “This is the murder of Jews.”

He also called for action at the state level. “This is partly the Israel Defense Forces, but mainly the Israel Police, regarding the phenomenon of illegal residents. All of these measures together reduce the risks,” he said.

Jerusalem’s most pressing national responsibility was to confront terror in Judea and Samaria “at its roots,” Smotrich continued, urging expanded IDF operations in Palestinian refugee camps.

While the Israeli military has already been operating in such areas, Smotrich said the effort needed to be significantly expanded to include clearing the camps, relocating civilians for their protection, dismantling terror infrastructure and eliminating local armed groups backed by Iran.

He also called for a crackdown on anti-Israel incitement, accusing the Palestinian Authority of encouraging terror and violence through its education system. He reiterated his calls for the body to be dismantled.

Israeli officials, including Jerusalem’s consul general in New York, have linked Friday’s terror attack to the P.A.’s ongoing anti-Israel incitement.

Earlier this month, Smotrich told JNS that Ramallah “supports, encourages and funds terrorism” and should be replaced by a “completely different,” non-hostile civilian governing body.

“Unfortunately, such a decision has not yet been made by the government I am a member of,” the Cabinet minister stated.