Smotrich says West Bank Palestinian Resistance ‘must be fought like in Gaza’

Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves in the Defence Ministry, stated today that Palestinian Resistance groups in the Occupied West Bank “must be fought like in Gaza.”

According to the Times of Israel, Smotrich’s remarks came after sporadic gunfire from the West Bank village of Tulkarm targeted the Israeli town of Bat Hefer in the central Sharon region.

The identity of those responsible for the gunfire into Bat Hefer remains unclear, and Israeli politicians’ claims that Palestinians were involved could not be independently verified.

“We must not allow them to do in the Sharon what they did on October 7 near the Gaza border,” Smotrich wrote on X. “Terror needs to be uprooted anywhere, even if it means Tulkarm will look like Gaza looks today,” he added.

Smotrich further added that a future Palestinian State would pose “an existential threat to the State of Israel.”

מול המחבלים ביו"ש צריך להילחם כמו בעזה. אסור לאפשר להם לעשות בשרון את מה שעשו בשביעי לאוקטובר בעוטף. את הטרור צריך לגדוע בכל מקום, גם אם זה אומר שטול כרם תיראה כמו שעזה נראית היום.
שוחחתי עם ראש מועצת עמק חפר גלית שאול וקבענו להיפגש בימים הקרובים יחד עם פורום קו התפר כדי לתת מענה… pic.twitter.com/kPnumMGXN4

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) May 29, 2024

The far-right Minister also stated that he has spoken with Emek Hefer Regional Council head, Galit Shaul, and agreed to hold a meeting in the coming days with other officials “to address the immediate needs arising from the increased threat to the residents.”

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