Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich confirmed that Israel should launch a "defensive war" in the West Bank, considering that "the establishment of a Palestinian state will lead to a reoccurrence of October 7 in the West Bank." Israeli broadcasting authority reported that amid ongoing shooting attacks from the Tulkarem area towards settlements, Smotrich visited several West Bank settlements today, accompanied by a group of local authority leaders. He indicated that he would request this evening, during an expanded cabinet meeting, to allocate emergency budgets to local authorities along the contact line to enhance security.
The Finance Minister emphasized that "there is no escape from delivering a decisive blow to terrorism, to ensure that the settlements in the West Bank do not become like the settlements in the Gaza envelope." Smotrich stated, "The security of the settlements here is the security of the entire state." He sent a "message to the neighbors across the fence, in Tulkarem, Nur Shams, Qalqilya, and others," saying: "We will turn you into ruined cities like those in the Gaza Strip if the terrorism you perpetrate against the settlements continues," as he expressed.
He also added, "The message to the citizens of Israel is that if, God forbid, a Palestinian state is established, what happened in the communities surrounding Gaza on October 7 could happen here as well, and this will not happen."
