Finance Minister and Chairman of Religious Zionism, Bezalel Smotrich, addressed political and security developments today (Monday) at a meeting of his party's faction in the Knesset.
In response to a question, Smotrich referred to the storm caused by his statement "that the Saudis will continue to ride camels," a statement for which he apologized - and responded: "We managed without them for 77 years, and we will manage without them for another 77 years.".
He wondered why the criticism was not directed at Saudi Arabia itself, since it consistently acts against Israel: "Where were you when for two years the Saudis have been accusing IDF soldiers of genocide and starvation? When they support proceedings against Israel in international courts and arrest warrants against the prime minister and the defense minister? This is a thousand times more insulting than an unplanned and not-so-successful statement by a finance minister in the State of Israel.".
He added: "The Saudis said much more insulting things about us. They were complicit in anti-Semitic statements and no one demanded that they apologize. They demand that the State of Israel be torn in two and want to establish a terrorist state here. But that's fine. They are allowed to. So I had an unsuccessful statement, oh my, we insulted the Saudis, who would listen, terrible and horrible.".
In a statement he made at the opening of the faction meeting, Smotrich said: "This war is not over yet. True, there are agreements, there are attempts to stabilize the situation, but from our perspective, the real test is in the implementation. The State of Israel will not allow the reconstruction of Gaza as long as Hamas is not completely dismantled - militarily, governmentally, and politically. We will not allow the establishment of a renewed terrorist entity under the title of 'humanitarian reconstruction.' Real denuclearization is a basic condition for reconstruction, and any attempt to circumvent this is rejected out of hand. The security of Israeli citizens comes first.".
He added and revealed that "the IDF is working on plans for the rapid occupation of the Gaza Strip in the event that the agreement collapses.".
Regarding the 'Abraham Accords', he said: "We believe in peace, but not at any price. We will expand the agreements, deepen cooperation, but we will insist on the basic principle: peace for peace. True peace that is based on truth, not on the lie of establishing a terrorist state that will endanger our future and existence.".
""Nobody - and I emphasize, nobody - is doing us a favor by normalizing relations with us and joining the Abraham Accords. We have always reached out for peace, and we continue to do so. But we will not agree to any country in the world setting us conditions of dividing the land, of renouncing our homeland, of denying the heritage of our roots.".
He referred to the defense budget: "The defense system will be required to become more efficient and return to a reasonable budget. Yes, the budget will remain higher than before the war, and that is natural, but it cannot continue to grow without limit. Economic security is an inseparable part of national security.".
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