Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted a direct quote from US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who told him in January 2025: 'I will not let two million Nazis live next to your children on the border.' The quote, originally in English, was posted by Smotrich on Friday afternoon.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Friday posted a direct quote from US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, recounting a private conversation in January 2025. According to Smotrich, Witkoff said in English: 'Listen, I will not allow two million Nazis to live next to your children on the border.' The remark was presented as a firm position by the US envoy regarding the population near Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.
The quote echoes a statement Smotrich attributed to Witkoff in a previous account, reported Thursday evening. Friday's post adds that the exchange occurred in English, and that Smotrich understood it directly. The language of the quote — 'two million Nazis' — has drawn criticism in the past, notably when former defense minister Moshe 'Bogey' Ya'alon compared Smotrich himself to Hitler and the Nazis in June.
Smotrich has frequently used strong rhetoric regarding the Palestinian population in Judea and Samaria, and has called for a hardline security policy. The US envoy's reported remark, if accurate, would signal a notably tough stance from the Trump administration's envoy — a position that aligns with Smotrich's own views. The quote has not been independently confirmed by Witkoff's office.
2 developments
- DevelopingBogey Ya'alon reportedly compares Finance Minister Smotrich to Hitler and Nazis
- DevelopingSmotrich visits Gaza border communities, tells angry residents 'I understand the anger'
- DevelopingSmotrich warns of EU-backed plot to reverse West Bank settlement drive
- DevelopingSmotrich warns Bennett government would evacuate new West Bank outposts, establish Palestinian state
Source and signal
- Internal intake