JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right finance minister on Thursday laid out his party’s plan to dramatically increase the number of Jews living in two areas of the country with large Arab-Israeli populations. With elections approaching, Bezalel Smotrich said the plan would emulate what he termed the “revolution” in the occupied West Bank, where the construction of Israeli settlements has soared in recent years.

Far-right minister's pre-election pitch would establish dozens of towns for one million new Jewish residents while curbing Arab building

Finance minister proposes 40 new communities and 1 million additional Jewish residents, saying his party would take control of key land agencies and remove officials he calls…