Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spoke today (Sunday) at the 'Heart in the Galilee' conference - and presented a series of dramatic demands and goals to address threats to personal security and the demographic challenge in the region.
The Minister of Finance said: "According to Shin Bet estimates, there are about a million illegal weapons in the State of Israel. This is a major threat to our national security, and therefore the rules of the game must be changed: define the phenomenon in legislation as terrorism, bring the Shin Bet into the fray with its full capabilities, and bring about the arrest of thousands of criminals. This way, the problem can be eradicated.".
According to him, "The struggle for the future of the Galilee is a national challenge, and it cannot be won with existing tools - it is like emptying the ocean with a spoon. The result today is that the Galilee is increasingly being occupied by Israeli Arabs, and it is permissible and even obligatory to set a clear Zionist goal: to ensure a Jewish majority in the Galilee. To do this, we must change the entire system.".
He presented his demands, which he will present after the elections: "I intend to demand responsibility for the management of the Negev and the Galilee, together with the Israel Land Authority and the Planning Administration, and to replicate here the change in the mechanism that we led in Judea and Samaria. It is impossible that the establishment of the settlement of Shivlot has been going on for 19 years. I will work for immediate legislation that will allow the government to decide on the establishment of the settlement, and only then bring the matter to the planning institutions.".
""I intend to take on the Negev and Galilee project - it is a revolution that must be brought about, and now there is true maturity to do so.".
