Khaberni - The Finance Minister in the occupying government, Bezalel Smotrich, reaffirmed what he described as the "importance of imposing sovereignty" in the occupied West Bank, and "eliminating the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state."
In statements revealing disagreements within the ruling coalition over policy towards the West Bank, Smotrich accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of refraining from raising the topic of annexation during his talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The annexation debate escalates again
Smotrich's statements, the leader of the extremist right-wing Religious Zionism party, come just days after the Knesset approved preliminary readings of two bills aimed at annexing parts of the West Bank, including the "Ma'ale Adumim" settlement.
This move, which was made by a slim majority, elicited broad international and Arab condemnation, and the U.S. administration, represented by Secretary of State Mark Rubio, warned that moving forward with annexation plans could "threaten" the fragile ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
President Trump had previously pledged to Arab leaders not to allow Netanyahu to annex the West Bank, as part of his efforts to cement the Gaza agreement and build on it to achieve a broader regional peace that includes normalization with additional Arab countries.
It appears that Netanyahu, at least outwardly, is adhering to this American commitment, which irritates his partners in the extremist right, such as Smotrich and the National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who consider the annexation of the West Bank a strategic goal that cannot be compromised.
In his remarks today, Smotrich did not hide his frustration with Netanyahu's hesitation to bring the most sensitive file to the discussion table with the American administration.
