Smotrich: I’m trying to be loyal to government, but security situation untenable

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich indicates to supporters that his patience for his government is running thin in light of its handling of Palestinian terror.

“The fact that checkpoints around Nablus are open is an intolerable crime. We’ve been speaking about this for weeks. I try very hard to be loyal to outward appearances and not attack the government I am a member of, but it can’t continue like this,” he writes on WhatsApp, according to Hebrew-language media reports.

The hawkish head of the Religious Zionism party, who sits on the security cabinet charged with deciding on military operations, also accuses the IDF of being “held hostage” by operational doctrines relevant for the Oslo peace process, saying Israel is not free of complicity in the slaying of its citizens.