Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is planning to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He said the thousands of new homes will “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
On Wednesday, Smotrich announced the approval of 3,400 new homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank. The new settlement will bisect the West Bank.
“Approval of construction plans in E1 buries the idea of a Palestinian state and continues the many steps we are taking on the ground as part of the de facto sovereignty plan that we began implementing with the establishment of the government,” Smotrich said.
In May, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved a resolution that gives Tel Aviv full control over Area C of the West Bank. At the time, Smotrich touted the decision as a “de facto” annexation of over half of the West Bank. His overall goal for the West Bank is to give the choice between subjection, emigration, and death.
Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Tel Aviv has long worked to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state. The prime minister even approved the funding of Hamas to give Israel a pretext not to engage in the diplomatic process with the Palestinians.
In an interview earlier this week, Netanyahu was asked by former Israeli lawmaker Sharon Gal if the Prime Minister had a “vision of Greater Israel.” Netanyahu replied, “Very much.” Some Israelis’ vision of greater Israel includes Gaza, the West Bank, along with parts of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq.
Smotrich, who is a settler and is the leader of the Religious Zionist Party, says he has the prime minister’s support. “He backs me up in everything concerning Judea and Samaria, and is letting me create the revolution,” he said Thursday.
