On Monday morning, Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called on Israel to resettle Gaza after the war in an interview with Radio North, quoted by the Jerusalem Post.
Wasserlauf, who serves as Minister of Development for the Negev and Galilee and Minister of National Resilience, criticized Netanyahu for his treatment of residents of northern Israel, who have been bombarded by Hezbollah rockets since last October.
Discussing the creation of a directorate to meet the needs of northerners, Wasserlauf said he had "stopped believing the fairy tales" and that he "wants to see action".
"It is a fact that the prime minister promised more than two months ago to accept a government proposal on the subject and nothing happened," the minister also said. "So I have a lot of criticism.
"If you give your word, keep it,", Wasserlauf said in a message to Netanyahu. "Our words have value. I respect Netanyahu and the government and I do so with pride, but I want us to fulfill our commitments to the residents.
"I am a minister in this government, it is not trivial for me to say these things. Every day that passes without the creation of a directorate is a disgrace.
Discussing the progress of the war in Gaza, Wasserlauf stated that "total victory" over Hamas will require the resettlement of Jews in the Strip.
"We must force them into submission in order to achieve total victory," he said. "This includes the invasion of Rafah and the crushing of all Palestinian factions.
Wasserlauf continued: "And if you ask me, a total winner means a return to settle there, this is Hamas's punishment for what they did on October 7. If we do not do this, our soldiers have fallen for nothing."