Smotrich, the head of one of the nationalist-religious parties in the ruling right-wing coalition, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant in which he asked them to establish special zones around the settlements to prevent Palestinians from approaching, “including the olive harvest season.”
Smotrich said that the attack launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip on October 7 on southern Israel provided lessons for the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Reuters quoted the Israeli minister as saying in the letter, “I demand that a written directive be issued immediately from the political level to the Israeli army, to establish those broad security zones around the settlements and roads, and to prevent Arabs from approaching them,” noting that he proposed granting compensation to those who were denied access to their crops.
The message comes amid escalating violence in the volatile West Bank following a Hamas attack, Israeli air strikes on Gaza and the Strip’s ground campaign.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have more than doubled since October 7.
Smotrich also refuses to disburse part of the tax revenues that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority under a long-term agreement, despite Gallant’s call for funds to help maintain stability.
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