Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday that the "Palestinians are part of the axis of evil," urging the next U.S. administration, along with Western allies, to topple the mullah regime in Iran.
Smotrich added that "Iran's nuclear program, which threatens the State of Israel and the entire Western world must be terminated."
Speaking at a local conference, Smotrich declared that "once in several generations, a rare opportunity arises to reshape history, alter global power structures and redefine the future. In the near future, we will face crucial decisions that could lead to a new, right Middle East."
Smotrich outlined two main pillars supporting this vision: a shift in Israeli and international perspectives and dismantling the axis of evil.
"The awakening in Israel and globally is a historic opportunity we must not miss to establish a new Middle East, where west of the Jordan River there exists one and only national definition—the state of the Jewish people," Smotrich said.
"The world has witnessed the horror and brutality that emerged from Gaza, and, like Israeli society, it now understands that if there is an Iranian axis of evil and a bloc of moderate states signing the Abraham Accords, the Palestinians are deeply embedded within Iran's axis of evil."
"The vast majority of Gaza’s residents supported Hamas and its massacre, as did the Palestinian Authority and much of the Arab public in the West Bank," he added. "Those who back such acts and have not condemned them to this day are on the wrong side of history. They are deeply part of the Iranian axis of evil, ‘the problem,’ and cannot be part of the solution."
Smotrich falsely claimed that the PLO Executive Committee convened to hold a memorial for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Instead, Palestinian officials held a memorial for all those killed in Gaza.
“The axis of evil has been metastasizing for many years and poses a threat not only to Israel but to the entire Western world," he said.
"We are eliminating Hamas, defeating Hezbollah, destabilizing the Iranian regime and acting beyond that. In one month, Israel has taken out Sinwar, Nasrallah and top terrorist figures, some of whom the U.S. has been pursuing for years. We can and must continue to join forces, work to bring down the Iranian mullah regime, and dismantle their nuclear program, which threatens global peace."
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