“Raising the Israeli flag in northern Gaza, proudly, will send the message that Oct. 7 was not worth it—and that killing Jews does not pay off,” Religious Zionism lawmaker Ohad Tal told JNS on Monday.

In a candid sit-down interview at his Knesset office in Jerusalem, Tal outlined his vision for Israel’s future, including his fundamental belief that peace in the region can only be achieved by applying Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip.

He also discussed U.S.-Israel relations at the government level, his recent meetings with Diaspora Jewry and the initiatives he has promoted so far during his current term as a lawmaker.

Despite the text of a November 2025 U.S.-drafted resolution approved by the United Nations Security Council—including a clause outlining a “pathway to Palestinian statehood”—Tal said he believes that if Israel’s leadership explains to Washington why sovereignty in Judea and Samaria serves American interests, Israel will not need to recognize such statehood.

“Realistically, practically, it is the only relevant solution. Returning to past patterns and repeating the same mistakes—thinking we can bring in international forces or allow the Palestinian Authority to control the Gaza Strip again—will not stabilize the region. We tried it in the past and it blew up in our faces,” he said.

‘The Middle East must be stabilized’

“America has far greater interests in the Middle East today. The axis formed by China, Iran, North Korea and Russia wants to seize control of the global economy from the United States. To counter that, the Middle East must be stabilized,” he added.

The Oslo approach, Tal argued, only creates another cycle of violence that drags the entire world into conflict every year or so.

“Israel has proven itself to be a stabilizing force in the region. Every piece of land we’ve ever given the Arabs has brought only death and agony to Jews and Arabs alike. About 20% of Israel’s population consists of Muslims, Christians and Druze who enjoy the highest levels of freedom,” he said.

“Expanding sovereignty—placing Judea and Samaria under Israeli law and returning Gaza to Israeli control and law—will stabilize the region,” he added.

The only price Hamas understands, according to Tal, is land. What happened on Oct. 7, 2023, was pure evil, he continued, and if Israel does not make evil pay a price, it risks future attacks.

“Historically and morally, Gaza belongs to us. It was a stupid mistake to ever give it up—a mistake we paid for with the blood of far too many of our brothers and sisters. I think we should correct this mistake and return at least to northern Gaza, an area with broad consensus in Israel,” he said.

On the prospect of deploying international forces in Gaza, Tal said the issue is not which countries might participate, but the purpose of such a mission.

“If the goal is to dismantle Hamas, we’re fooling ourselves. Hamas will never surrender its weapons willingly. I don’t see any country—not even the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia, not even friendly nations—risking the lives of their soldiers to do that,” he said.

“The only force capable of achieving this is the IDF. The Americans are beginning to understand what we said from day one: no other force will be able to do it. All those countries are now saying they’re not in for that,” he added.

Regarding Iran, Tal said Israel’s leadership will not tolerate an existential threat or capabilities that could pose one.

“The ballistic missile program, together with the nuclear program, was an existential threat to Israel, and we eliminated it. If we have to do it again, we will do it again,” he said.

Tal added that while Iran “brags about many things”—from addressing water issues to improving its economy and providing services—it is failing across the board, including militarily.

“Even during the 12-day war, they didn’t really fight back. The only thing they managed to do was launch missiles, and most of them did not penetrate our defenses. We will not allow them to regain the capabilities to threaten Israel, and we will do whatever is needed,” he said.

Visit to the United States

In November, Tal visited the United States, meeting Jews from across the spectrum of American Jewry—most of them liberals, he said—just one day before Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York.

 “Many of them told me they are having difficulty defending Israel, especially with all the images coming out of Gaza, and that they’re missing talking points from the government. They said they also struggle with backlash to statements made by some ministers,” Tal told JNS.

While he acknowledged the need to improve messaging and ensure ministers understand the impact their statements have on the diaspora, he argued that the real issue is not the lack of talking points.

“I told them their problem is that their communities—the liberal communities in America, in New York—would elect, the very next day, a mayor who is a communist antisemite. In a couple of months, they will come to us and say there is rising antisemitism in New York and ask for our help, and we will help them. But by voting for him, they are bringing this on themselves,” he said.

“There is a lack of understanding and an inability to distinguish between good and evil in most liberal communities today. That is a bigger threat than anything else because they are creating the problem,” he added.

Mamdani’s election, while alarming, could still prompt constructive outcomes by awakening people to the dangers of extreme wokism and political correctness, said Tal.

“After Oct. 7, I have to explain to them how to defend Israel—who is on the good side and who is on the bad side. If they are buying into all the genocidal arguments against Israel and find it difficult to defend Israel, then they are losing their ability to distinguish between good and evil, and the result is electing Mamdani as their mayor,” he said.

“I think it’s a terrible development, but I hope it will make the average American realize that supporting these antisemites and communists does not help. I hope people—Jews and other Americans—will wake up,” he added.

Regarding Israel-U.S. relations at the government level, Tal said he believes the ties remain very strong. “Without any doubt, Trump is the most pro-Israel president we have ever had since the state was established,” he said.

However, Tal expressed concerns about the future—not only about the radical progressive camp in the Democratic Party, but also within the conservative Republican camp.

“People who are 100% antisemites, like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens and others, have a lot of influence over the younger generation within the Republican camp. The next president of America, whether from the left or the right, will likely not be as supportive of Israel,” he said.

Even Republican presidential candidates in the next term, Tal added, may have to justify their support for Israel to their own voters. “That’s a serious concern, and we should be more active in trying to minimize the threat from that side,” he said.

Building new alliances

In May, Tal led a bipartisan Knesset delegation to Taipei aimed at strengthening ties with Taiwan. He emphasized the importance of building new alliances with countries facing similar threats and challenges.

“Taiwan, like Israel, is a small country with no natural resources. It is a small democracy in an undemocratic region, surrounded by countries that want to wipe it off the map. Like Israel, it turned itself into a global leader—in their case, a superpower in nanotech and chips,” he said.

“If we want to truly build an axis to counter the Chinese, we have to work with them,” he added.

Breaking monopolies, lowering prices

In Israel, several companies are classified as monopolies, including the dairy producer Tnuva. To reduce prices and boost competition, Finance Minister and Religious Zionism Party leader Bezalel Smotrich recently moved to waive Israel’s high tariffs on milk imports as part of his reform program.

“Prices in Israel are too high—about 50% more than in most Western countries. If we really want change, we must open the markets to more competition and imports and reduce government regulation,” said Tal.

It is critical, he continued, to open as many markets as possible to fair competition, and although Israeli farmers may find it difficult to compete with imports, they will receive support.

While these reforms were on the table before the war, lawmakers had to prioritize wartime needs over the past two years and avoid introducing internal issues that might heighten tensions, he noted.

“Small lobby groups have control over lawmakers in parties including Otzma Yehudit, Likud and Shas,” he said.

“I hope we will soon be able to bring good news to the people of Israel—that we are breaking the monopolies and lobby groups and reducing prices. It’s not just milk; the price of all milk-based products will drop,” he added.

Religious Zionism is also promoting reforms in the banking system, he noted. With Israel having only five major banks, competition is nearly nonexistent, resulting in bank revenues far higher than in comparable OECD countries.

Initiating vital legislation

In addition, Tal discussed two bills he has been pushing in the Knesset: the sovereignty bill to establish Israeli sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip, and a bill to legislate the recommendations of the Shamgar Commission, which was appointed by former prime minister Ehud Barak following the release of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev after the Second Lebanon War.

“If we create an equation that makes it worthwhile to kidnap Jews and Israelis, I am concerned that we will meet this reality again and even in the Diaspora. We have to create a situation where it will not be worth it,” said Tal.

“I hope to promote in the coming months a bill to legislate the conclusions of the Shamgar Commission and I hope it will take away the incentives for our enemy to repeat the horrors we’ve experienced in the past two years,” he concluded. 

This article is part of a new JNS series on key lawmakers set to run in the next elections in Israel.

The post Israeli elections 2026: Meet the parliament appeared first on JNS.org.