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Finance chief says Israel will expand its borders in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria

Bezalel Smotrich says these steps would be appropriate in the context of the Middle East

TEL AVIV, April 9. /TASS/. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, said the Jewish state will expand its borders by annexing the Gaza Strip, southern Lebanon, and bordering areas in Syria.

Israel’s finance chief, who is also responsible for the administration of the occupied territories in the West Bank in the government, made this statement at the inauguration ceremony of the Maoz Tzur settlement on Palestinian soil, the Ynet news website reported.

"There will be a political leg in Gaza that will expand our borders, there will be a conclusive political leg in Lebanon that will expand our borders to the Litani [River] on defensible borders, and there will be a conclusive political leg in Syria with the Hermon Crown and the buffer zone at least," Smotrich said.

The senior Israeli official argued that such steps would be appropriate in the context of the Middle East. "That's what they respect in our neighborhood and that's what is needed to secure our security," he emphasized.

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