Smotrich Negev Galilee Judaization Plan Targets Arab Population Centers

Israel – (Special Correspondent/Web Desk) – Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has revealed a sweeping new plan aimed at reshaping the population of two key regions in the country. On Thursday, he laid out what his party calls the Smotrich Negev Galilee Judaization plan, a proposal designed to bring in far more Jewish residents to areas where Arab-Israelis currently form a large share of the population.

Smotrich compared the idea to changes already seen in the occupied West Bank. He said the growth of Jewish settlements there over recent years would now be copied in the Negev and the Galilee, but on a much bigger scale.

Speaking on social media platform X, Smotrich said his party wanted to carry out the same kind of shift they achieved in the West Bank, only this time across southern and northern Israel. He used the biblical term Judea and Samaria when referring to the West Bank, a naming choice often used by settler groups.

Alongside his post, Smotrich’s party shared an AI-generated video. The clip showed two Arab men appearing upset and shouting about the plan, a move that quickly drew attention online.

The Negev sits in southern Israel, while the Galilee lies in the north. Both areas are home to large communities of Arab-Israelis. Most people in this group identify as Palestinian. Many are descendants of families who stayed in the region after Israel was founded in 1948. Today, Arab citizens make up close to 21 percent of Israel’s population of just over 10 million people.

According to Smotrich, the target is bold. He wants to bring one million more Jewish residents into the Negev and Galilee. His plan includes building 40 new communities, along with dozens of farms. It also calls for expanding existing towns and adding hundreds of thousands of new housing units.

Smotrich also spoke about halting certain development plans in Arab communities. He argued these plans have used up land that could otherwise go toward Jewish settlement growth in the region.

״כן. מייהדים!״

אני מציג בפניכם היום את תכנית הציונות הדתית ליהוד הנגב והגליל: את המהפכה שעשינו ביו״ש – נעשה בנגב ובגליל, ובענק.

היעד: מיליון יהודים נוספים בנגב ובגליל, 40 יישובים חדשים, עשרות חוות, הרחבת היישובים הקיימים ומאות אלפי פתרונות דיור. נבטל את התוכניות המופקרות… pic.twitter.com/i9n3bqAnQa

— בצלאל סמוטריץ’ (@bezalelsm) August 27, 2026

He didn’t stop at housing. Smotrich said his party would push for new industrial zones and job hubs in these areas. He also called for removing what he described as barriers, while placing people he called Zionist professionals into important roles.

This announcement comes at a sensitive political moment. Israel is gearing up for elections set for October 27, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a tough fight to hold onto power. Smotrich’s party is currently part of Netanyahu’s coalition, though recent polling shows it hovering right at the edge of the vote share needed to stay in parliament.

The West Bank remains a flashpoint in this debate. Israel has occupied the territory since 1967, and more than 500,000 Israelis now live there in settlements. These settlements are widely viewed as illegal under international law. Roughly three million Palestinians also call the West Bank home.

As elections draw closer, plans like this one are likely to become a bigger part of the political conversation, especially as parties compete for votes from Israel’s right-wing base.