Israeli Finance Minister Calls for a 'Gaza-Style' War in the West Bank
Bezalel Smotrich also demanded dismantling the Palestinian Authority; Cairo and the Palestinians condemned the remarks.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, called for a military campaign in the occupied West Bank in an interview with Israel's Ynet, saying Israel should 'do there what we did in Gaza' and demanding the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority.
What was said
In the interview Smotrich said: 'We need to go to war in Judea and Samaria, to do there what we did in Gaza' (Judea and Samaria is Israel's term for the West Bank). The remarks came amid tightened movement restrictions and roughly a month before Israel's election.
The numbers
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 1,330 settler attacks were recorded in the West Bank from January to late July 2026 — about six a day, the highest rate in roughly two decades. About 74,000 people have reportedly been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
Reaction
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry and Egypt condemned the call. Rights experts who spoke to Al Jazeera warned the remarks should not be dismissed as mere pre-election rhetoric.
In brief
- Who: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
- What: a call for war in the West Bank and to dismantle the Palestinian Authority
- Source: Ynet interview (27 Sep 2026)
- Context: 1,330+ settler attacks (OCHA); ~1 month to the election
Reported from Anadolu and Al Jazeera. Closed or unverified details were omitted.
