Jerusalem, 23 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, chairman of the Religious Zionism party, called for a full-scale military campaign in Judea and Samaria following the terrorist attack near Hebron.
“There is no alternative to a comprehensive military campaign in Judea and Samaria to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, collect weapons and eliminate terrorists, just as in Gaza and Lebanon,” Smotrich wrote.
He said the current government had led a positive transformation in Jewish settlement, undermining what he called the dangerous idea of establishing a terrorist state in the heart of Israel.
Smotrich argued that settlement expansion alone was insufficient without a fundamental change in security policy and a broad military operation to defeat terrorism.
He acknowledged that timing must account for priorities in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, but warned against repeating the security assumptions that preceded October 7. He said the campaign would be an early demand of the next government.
