Smotrich says he weighed quitting after Oct. 7, but ‘couldn’t find anything’ he did wrong

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated in a recent podcast interview that he considered resigning after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack but ultimately decided against it after concluding he had done nothing wrong. He reflected on the event, saying, "The worst massacre that happened to the Jewish people since the Holocaust happened under my watch. And I am trying to think what I did wrong." Smotrich linked the attack to past events, noting his childhood protests against the Oslo Accords and his opposition to the 2005 Gaza disengagement. While he admitted the government's failure to protect citizens immediately after the assault, he maintained his personal blamelessness.