Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take steps to “thwart” the creation of a Palestinian state, including annexing the West Bank. The hardline official wants to make a move in response to an expected World Court ruling against the Israeli settlement expansions. A Palestinian-controlled West Bank is essential for the two-state solution.
On Monday, Smotrich told reporters, “I hereby call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – if the International Court of Justice in The Hague does decide that the settlement enterprise is illegal – respond to them with a historic decision of applying sovereignty to the territories of the homeland.”
The ICJ is considering a case concerning the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Over decades, Tel Aviv has displaced Palestinians and given their land to Israelis, creating Israeli settlement communities throughout the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights. The ICJ is expected to rule against Israel on Friday, but the decision will be non-binding.
The West Bank is a region of Eastern Palestine, coveted by Tel Aviv and many hardline Israelis. Creating settlements in militarily occupied territory violates international law.
Israeli settlement expansion has been at record levels since Smotrich assumed a post in the defense ministry, making him the de facto occupation governor of the West Bank. Smotrich lives in one of the settlements and has claimed that Netanyahu is entirely on board with his plan to annex the West Bank.
Since October 7, Israeli settlers and occupation forces have driven thousands of Palestinians from their homes in the region while approving several new settlements. Additionally, the armed Israelis have killed over 500 Palestinians in the West Bank.
Smoltrich explained that his actions are meant to “thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state through massive construction, regulating settlements, building roads and other measures in the field.” In May, the Finance Minister posted a video saying that the West Bank could be reduced to rubble in the same way as Gaza.
