Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich appeared yesterday in front of a wall inscribed with “Death to Arabs” coinciding with his announcement of a plan to rebuild the Sanur settlement, which was evacuated 20 years ago in the northern occupied West Bank, as part of a government policy aimed at expanding settlements and accelerating Israeli control over the West Bank.

The photo of Smotrich next to the wall sparked wide controversy and reactions within Israel, while the far-right minister’s office quickly denied knowledge of the writing on the wall, claiming it was only noticed after the photo was published.

The Israeli opposition considered this scene a “moral and media disaster.” Opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on his official X account: “Beyond the ethical debate, what does the government expect us to say to the world when it publishes a photo of a senior minister smiling next to the phrase ‘Death to Arabs’?” Meanwhile, Jewish Rabbi Gilad Kariv, a Knesset member from the Labor Party, also wrote on X: “The photo may have been taken on a hill in Sanur… but it reflects the moral abyss into which Netanyahu’s government is descending.”

Meanwhile, Smotrich announced a plan to rebuild the Sanur settlement, evacuated 20 years ago, as part of settlement expansion plans in the occupied West Bank.

The settlement in northern West Bank was evacuated in 2005 as part of the Israeli disengagement from Gaza led by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Smotrich said from the settlement site, accompanied by settlers preparing to settle there: “We are correcting the mistake of the expulsion, i.e., the expulsion of settlers in 2005. Even then, we knew that even if the expulsion was regrettable, we would one day return to all the places from which we were expelled. This applies to Gaza.”

He added: “We are pleased to lead the correction of the displacement from northern West Bank in the Sanur settlement.”

Israeli media reported that Smotrich’s visit to the evacuated Sanur settlement aims to pave the way for its reconstruction.

In May, Israel canceled the so-called disengagement law in the northern occupied West Bank, allowing settlers to return to the Sanur, Ganim, and Kadim settlements near Jenin and Nablus, from which they had been banned since the evacuation order in 2005.

The West Bank is witnessing a significant escalation in Israeli settlement policies, which are considered de facto annexation of the West Bank, with Israel imposing an irreversible settlement reality, according to official statements from senior Israeli officials, including Yoni Danino, head of the Settlement Directorate at the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

Smotrich’s move comes after Benjamin Netanyahu’s government announced a plan to establish 22 new settlements in the West Bank, some of which were previously existing settlements awaiting official recognition, alongside other communities to be converted into independent settlements. (Agencies)