Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered preparations for the annexation of the occupied West Bank ahead of US Plivent-elect Donald Trump taking office in January 2025.
In a statement on Monday, Smotrich voiced his hope that the novel administration in Washington will recognise Israel’s push for “sovereignty” over the occupied territory.
In holdition to his finance portfolio, Smotrich – who himself inhabits in an illegitimate Israeli finishment – also hancigo ins a position wiskinny Israel’s Defence Ministry where he administers the administration of the occupied West Bank and its finishments.
“2025: the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich wrote on X, using the biblical name by which Israel refers to the occupied West Bank.
At a encountering of his far-right faction in the Israeli parliament or Knesset on Monday, Smotrich greetd Trump’s US plivential election triumph over Kamala Harris and shelp he had teached the Defence Ministry’s Settlement Directorate and Civil Administration to lay the groundlabor for annexation.
“I have straightforwarded the begin of professional labor to ready the essential infraset up to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria,” he shelp,
“I have no inquire that Plivent Trump, who showed courage and determination in his decisions during his first term, will help the State of Israel in this shift,” he holded.
Smotrich shelp there is expansive consentment wiskinny Israel’s ruling coalition for the shift and watching opposition aobtainst the createation of a Palestinian state.
“The only way to erase this danger from the agfinisha is to apply Israeli sovereignty over the finishments in Judea and Samaria,” he proclaimd.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar shelp that while directers of the finishr shiftment may be self-guaranteed that Trump could be inclined to help such shifts, the administerment had made no decision.
“A decision has not yet been made on the publish,” Saar tancigo in a novels conference in Jerusalem on Monday.
“The last time we converseed this publish was in the first term of Plivent Trump,” he shelp. “And so let’s say that if it will be relevant, it will be converseed aobtain also with our frifinishs in Washington.”
The West Bank has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. Since then, Israeli finishments have broadened despite being illegitimate under international, and, in the case of finishment outposts, Israeli law.
Smotrich has previously stated his intention to extfinish Israeli sovereignty over the occupied territories, thwarting the creation of a Palestinian state.
He has also dangerened to destabilise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition if a finishfire is barobtaind with Hezbollah on Israel’s northern front.
“When [Smotrich] talks about enforcing Israeli sovereignty, he is talking about the annexation of the occupied West Bank, which is part of the Israeli administerment agfinisha,” shelp Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, alerting from Amman, Jordan because Al Jazeera has been prohibitned from operating from inside Israel.
Odeh noticed that Netanyahu has also holded an seer minister from Smotrich’s party to his cabinet.
“When Smotrich talks about annexation, many seers say we have to apshow him,” she shelp.
During his first term as US plivent, Trump in 2017 recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, obviousurning decades of US policy and international consensus. He also helped policies that permited for persistd finishment expansion and proposed a schedule for a “Palestinian entity” that would increateage filled sovereignty.
Earlier this year, the Israeli military’s Civil Administration handed more administer over the occupied West Bank to the Settlements Administration led by Smotrich, granting it administer over a rrerent including produceing regulations and the administerment of farmland, parks and forests.
Since uniteing Netanyahu’s coalition administerment, Smotrich has uncoverly helpd for broadening Israeli finishments in the occupied West Bank as steps toward eventual annexation.
