Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the attempted run-over of settlement pioneers in Gush Etzion by a Jewish anarchist is a direct result of the incitement campaign by Yair Golan and leftists. He called on the president to condemn the violence and on Golan, Eizenkot, and Bennett to retract their statements about evacuating the farms after the elections.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Friday blamed the left-wing incitement campaign of Yair Golan and others for an attempted run-over of settlement pioneers in Gush Etzion by a Jewish anarchist, calling it a direct result of 'incitement.' The statement escalates the political rhetoric around an incident that The Zioneer had been tracking since initial reports at 14:31 Jerusalem, when a 90-year-old far-left activist was detained after running over a farm owner and dragging a woman. Smotrich urged the president to condemn the violence and called on Golan, Gadi Eizenkot, and Naftali Bennett to retract their statements about evacuating farms after the elections.
The Zioneer’s coverage began at 14:31 Jerusalem with initial reports of a suspected far-left activist deliberately ramming Jewish farmers, lightly injuring a woman. Police quickly clarified the incident was criminal, not a security attack. Subsequent updates within the same timeframe identified the suspect as a 90-year-old far-left activist with a history of attempting to run over soldiers at Evyatar in September 2025. Reports then stated two people were lightly injured, and the suspect was described as a known left-wing activist who had previously harassed soldiers at the Evyatar junction.
As The Zioneer reported at 15:41 Jerusalem, Yesha Council head Israel Gantz condemned the attack, calling it an 'unacceptable' crossing of a red line and urging security forces to remove violent elements from the area. The incident has drawn political reactions from both sides, with Smotrich framing it as a result of left-wing incitement, while earlier reports noted the suspect’s far-left activism.
What remains open: The suspect’s precise motive is still under police investigation, and Smotrich’s claim of incitement as a direct cause is a political statement, not a judicial finding. The condition of the hospitalized farm owner has not been updated since initial reports.
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Source and signal
- Internal intake