Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spoke to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News on Thursday during a tour of new communities, the establishment of which was recently announced by the Cabinet.
"We are in Beit Horon North with a potential area of 700 dunams that we are on the way to declaring as state land. This is a strategic area overlooking Route 443 and creating continuity between Jerusalem, Givat Ze'ev, Modi'in, and the center of the country while disrupting the Arab continuity," said Smotrich.
He added, "A central city in Israel should be established here. The decision to establish a community here is groundbreaking - it embodies Zionism, settlement, and security. To prevent, God forbid, the next October 7 in the center of the country, we need to create communities in these places. We are already advancing the procedures, and there is a core group of families that wants to move here."
The minister detailed that in the current term of the government, 50 new communities have been established - 30 through municipal regulation and 20 entirely new ones, all in strategic locations. "We conducted an analysis of the area together with the settlement movement and the planning administration and identified the important places. After October 7, the people of Israel understand that this is not just about the mitzvah of settling the land and Zionism, but also about security. There is now an overwhelming majority that opposes the establishment of a terror state in the heart of Israel."
When asked how settlement promotion efforts are received in Washington, the minister responded, "We managed to establish 32 communities during the Biden administration, which, to put it mildly, was not supportive of the settlement enterprise. We were able to act wisely. In the current administration, we are receiving strong backing. One of President Trump's first decisions was to lift the sanctions on the residents of Judea and Samaria, and we must thank him for that. Ambassador Huckabee is a clear supporter of the State of Israel and the settlement enterprise, and we work with him in full coordination."
In his view, this positive cooperation will lead to practical sovereignty on the ground. "This is another reason why it is important to preserve this government: to win the war, because elections would mean defeat. We have a historic opportunity to change the course of the history of the State of Israel - this is true in Lebanon and Gaza - and also in Judea and Samaria. We must not miss the opportunity to apply sovereignty in practice. This will change history for decades to come."
Commenting on the crisis over the Draft Law, Smotrich emphasized, "There is a significant challenge. We need our haredi brothers pulling their weight, but we need to see how to do this through agreements, a willingness to compromise, and an understanding that this is a process in which we preserve this government, continue the war until victory, and, God forbid, do not surrender and lose. We must continue the important revolutions we are carrying out in Judea and Samaria, as well as in the Negev and other places."
He added, "I am concerned for the coalition's stability. There are people who fail to rise to the occasion, who do not understand the enormous danger in toppling the government and the duty to maintain the partnership of the national camp that is advancing the State of Israel forward in every aspect."
Watch the Hebrew interview: