Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
There is one thing, in a sense, that hurts the enemy: land.
Whoever gets involved with us will lose land forever.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
Erdogan is a very dangerous man. Türkiye, as it stands today, is a very significant threat to the State of Israel.
We are conducting very intensive discussions with the President and with the administration, and we are working very hard, both publicly and behind the scenes, to try to prevent the sale of the F-35s to Türkiye.
Erdogan must not be given access to game-changing weapons.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
We have not yet eliminated either Hamas or Hezbollah, but there is now international legitimacy to eliminate both of these organizations.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
Trump removed 100% of the economic pressure on Americans, while only about 20% of the economic pressure on Iran was eased.
Today, we are only a decision by the political leadership away. Within t...
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
Trump removed 100% of the economic pressure on Americans, while only about 20% of the economic pressure on Iran was eased.
Today, we are only a decision by the political leadership away. Within three or four hours, the Israeli Air Force can operate deep inside Iran.
That's something that has never existed before. It creates a very significant level of deterrence.
As long as we make sure Iran doesn't rebuild its capabilities, that's good, but we must not let it confuse us.
We also must not accept a reality of repeated rounds of fighting with Iran. That's not why we came here.
And even more than that, I refuse to accept a reality where we bury our heads in the sand, enjoy an artificial calm, and then wake up ten years from now facing a nuclear Iran with 20,000 missiles aimed at us.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
Trump is the leader of a country with 380 million citizens, and he has to look after them as well.
Gas prices doubled, from about $2.50 a gallon to $5, and he also has midterm elections.
I also have an interest in seeing him win those midterm elections, so that he remains strong and continues standing alongside the State of Israel.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
Trump did what no American president before him had done.
He went with us into this war against Iran despite having only about 40% support among his own public.
Vice President Vance says Netanyahu hasn't criticized the Iran agreement because he knows its details. Asked about attacks on the deal from Ben Gvir and Smotrich, Vance responded: "What exactly is your proposal?"
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
There are real disagreements right now between us and the United States.
The challenge is knowing how to manage this crisis while standing your ground.
You need to know how not to snap the rope while standing firm.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Iran:
We must bring down this regime, because we cannot allow the very existence of such a radical regime that seeks our destruction and possesses these kinds of capabilities.
And we will continue to do this in our own way.
Again, we will stand our ground.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
We will remain in southern Lebanon. We will deepen our presence there.
As long as Hezbollah is not disarmed, we will remain there for the long term-as many years as necessary.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich: Trump's deal does not bind Israel. "We are not a banana republic." Israel will not withdraw from any territory captured in Lebanon, will not compromise on less than full Hezbollah disarmament, and any launch toward Israel from Lebanon will result in a strike on Dahieh.
Smotrich added: "The Jewish people are an eternal nation of 3,000 years. The days of Jews absorbing blows in silence are over. Never again."
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
The agreement with Iran is bad for Israel and for the entire free world. Period.
The joint campaign had many achievements in weakening Iran, and they will not go to waste.
We will have to continue the campaign to topple the regime ourselves and in creative ways, and ensure that Iran will never have nuclear weapons.
Slovenia's new government has lifted the arms embargo on Israel imposed by its predecessor and reversed the "persona non grata" designations for Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, and Smotrich. Imports from Judea and Samaria will also resume.
A new task force appointed by Finance Minister Smotrich is expected to recommend financial grants for sectors hurt by the shekel's strength.
The shekel is near record highs, driven by economic confidence and international optimism around Israeli business and tech, but the surge has squeezed Israeli companies doing business internationally.
France has imposed sanctions and an entry ban on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and other Israeli right-wing figures. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada are joining the measure, per the announcement.
Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich pitched the cabinet on flipping Israel's Iran response, strike Hezbollah, not Tehran. For every Iranian missile, level dozens of buildings in Dahieh. Destroy South Lebanon's contact villages. Force Hezbollah to pressure Iran into flexibility in U.S. talks. Save direct strikes on Iran for a fatal blow to energy and economy. - N12
Finance Minister Smotrich brought a new strategic framework to today's cabinet session: stop matching Iran strike for strike and instead devastate Hezbollah as the pressure mechanism. His formula calls for dozens of buildings in Dahieh leve...
Finance Minister Smotrich brought a new strategic framework to today's cabinet session: stop matching Iran strike for strike and instead devastate Hezbollah as the pressure mechanism. His formula calls for dozens of buildings in Dahieh leveled for every Iranian missile fired at Israel.
The proposal includes a "Silver Plow" operation to destroy South Lebanon's contact villages, which Smotrich argues is easier to execute and directly secures the north. A broken Hezbollah, in his view, would beg Iran to stand down, giving Tehran reason to show flexibility in talks with Washington. Direct strikes on Iran itself should be saved for a fatal blow to its energy sector and economy, not spent on routine exchanges.
Smotrich also frames the initiative as a way to earn credit with Trump, who rewards bold action.
@amitsegal
Ireland's Ministry of Justice has banned Israeli ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich from entering Irish territory.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
Europeans have to be on our side in the war against Iran because it's the good guys versus the bad guys
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
We have the most supportive administration that has ever been in the White House.
There has never been anything like it.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
I say here unequivocally: if Hezbollah does not surrender, we will take more and more territory from them.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich: “Issuing international arrest warrants against the prime minister, defense minister and finance minister is a declaration of war.
The Palestinian Authority opened this war and it will receive war in return.
I promise all our enemies: this is only the beginning.”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
I have been informed that the prosecutor of the antisemitic court has submitted a request for a fundamental international arrest warrant against me.
This request joins the unprecedented arrest wa...
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
I have been informed that the prosecutor of the antisemitic court has submitted a request for a fundamental international arrest warrant against me.
This request joins the unprecedented arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
This clumsy attempt to force upon us a policy of security suicide through sanctions and arrest warrants will not succeed.
As a sovereign and independent state, we will not accept hypocritical dictates from biased bodies that repeatedly stand against the State of Israel, against our biblical, historical, and legal rights in our homeland, and against our right and duty to self-defense and security.
The ICC prosecutor has requested an arrest warrant for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, according to Israel Hayom.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says:
“We closed the year with $80 billion in exits, a record high.
All of this while fighting a two-and-a-half-year war.
Compare that to other wartime economies. Look at what happened to the Ukrainian currency.”
