Ben Gvir blasts Netanyahu, Smotrich over delays to northern aid package

By Ariela Karmel

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31 May 2026, 4:07 pm

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir speaks with reporters ahead of his Otzma Yehudit party's weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, May 25, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir blasts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for delaying a long-promised aid package for northern communities, accusing them of repeatedly postponing assistance for areas battered by months of Hezbollah attacks.

The unusual public criticism of Netanyahu by a senior coalition minister comes as legislation backed by Smotrich granting expanded tax benefits to dozens of West Bank settlements is expected to advance to the Knesset plenum for its final votes this week.

“While residents of the north are facing existential threats, the prime minister and finance minister have once again postponed a decision regarding the north,” says Ben Gvir in a statement, calling it “unacceptable” that essential aid continues to be delayed due to “political foot-dragging.”

“The responsibility for delaying the plan lies at your doorstep,” he says, directly addressing Netanyahu and Smotrich, and calling the delay “a major mistake.”

Negev and Galilee Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, also of Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party, says he has warned Netanyahu that northern conflict-zone communities are “on the verge of collapse” and urged the government to approve extensive tax benefits for residents.

Last week, an overnight Finance Committee debate on the legislation ended without a vote after Smotrich rejected efforts to expand the benefits to a broader swath of northern communities. While the proposal, which originally only pertained to West Bank communities, was amended to include northern communities within two kilometers of the Lebanese border, committee chairman and Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky said the finance minister vetoed a plan to extend eligibility to communities up to nine kilometers from the border.

The debate was ultimately postponed to this week for further deliberations, angering northern local authority heads, who have demanded a more comprehensive aid package for communities still reeling from the war.

Opposition lawmakers have accused Smotrich of effectively funneling money to settlements and prioritizing his base while northern communities remain under near-daily bombardment.