Smotrich says he ‘won’t let’ Palestinian citizens celebrate election gains

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said his party “won’t let” Palestinian citizens of Israel celebrate after exit polls projected major gains for Palestinian-led parties, Haaretz reported. “I can see on some of the screens that the Arabs are celebrating tonight. So I’m telling you and them: We won’t let them celebrate,” Smotrich said at an event held by his Religious Zionism party. Exit polls projected the Joint List and the United Arab List would win between 16 and 18 seats, up from the 10 seats the two parties held in the outgoing Knesset. Smotrich also said the parties would not be able to reverse the expansion of Israeli settlements. “They think they’ll be able to reverse the settlement revolution in Judea and Samaria, and I’m telling them they won’t succeed,” he said, using the Israeli term for the occupied territory. “They will not succeed. Jewish settlements will be established in Gaza," he said. Supporters of Israel's Palestinian-led Joint List political alliance cheer at the alliance's campaign headquarters in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth on 27 October 2026 (AFP)