Bezalel Smotrich

Israel approves 764 new West Bank settlement homes, sparking criticism as rights groups warn the expansion drives de facto annexation and rising tensions.

The New Arab Staff & Agencies
11 December, 2025
Religious Zionist Party chief Bezalel Smotrich
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Israeli far-right lawmakers Bezalel Smotrich (R) and Itamar Ben-Gvir (L) take part in the ultranationalist Flag March outside Damascus Gate in Occupied East Jerusalem [Getty]
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 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center, in red tie) convenes a meeting with members of his security cabinet
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The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Albares, speaks during a government control session in the Senate on September 9, 2025, in Madrid, Spain.
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sraeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich displays a map of an area near the settlement of Maale Adumim, a land corridor known as E1, outside Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, on August 14, 2025
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Bezalel Smotrich
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Bezalel Smotrich has openly called for the annexation of Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians
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Israeli settlers escalate attacks on Palestinians amid West Bank settlement plan
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The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on four International Criminal Court judges [Getty]
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Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a map of an area near the Ma'ale Adumim settlement, a land corridor known as E1, outside Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, on August 14, 2025. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Sa-Nur [Getty]
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Lawmakers Otzma Yehudit party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir and Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich attend a rally with supporters in the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 26, 2022. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
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