From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Smotrich tells Arab MKs it’s not the government’s fault that ‘you murder one another’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich enters into a shouting match with Arab lawmakers, yelling that it is not the government’s fault that “you murder one another” during a heated meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee.
The far-right minister shouts at MK Iman Khatib-Yassin and other Arab lawmakers after she argues that his proposed 1.5 percent property tax on vacant land would harm members of the Arab sector who own land but cannot afford to develop it, and accuses the government of failing to take responsibility for rising crime in the Arab sector.
In response, Smotrich asks if the government is “also to blame for the fact that you murder one another,” prompting opposition lawmakers to yell that he is “disgusting” and a “racist.”
“Shame, shame, shame,” yells Khatib-Yassin while Yisrael Beytenu MK Hamad Amar shouts that the government takes “no responsibility.”
“Educate your public to stop murdering,” shouts Smotrich. “Let’s start with you condemning terror and condemning violence. Define Hamas as a terror organization.”
According to the Abraham Initiatives watchdog, 51 Arabs have been killed in Israel since the start of the year. The spiraling homicide rate in Arab society, which is largely fueled by mafia-style organized crime, has recently been the focus of escalating protests against what the community says is neglect by the government and law enforcement.
Addressing the committee, Smotrich says that “there is no good tax, I wish we could not collect taxes at all, but we are always looking for the least bad tax” and that he must enact a new tax in order to lower income taxes, “otherwise the deficit will increase and it will cost more to the citizens of Israel.”
Hitting back, Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni argues that Smotrich’s economic reforms will do nothing to lower the cost of living and “will only severely harm people whose economic situation is difficult.”
The new tax also comes under criticism from Ilan Gordo of the Contractors Association, who tells the committee that it is unfair that when builders purchase land but cannot build for years because of red tape, they will have to pay taxes on the unused land.
The Times of Israel Community.