Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for Israel to “go to war” in the occupied West Bank, dismantle the Palestinian Authority and carry out military operations there similar to those in Gaza.
Speaking on Ynet's podcast on Sunday, Mr Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionism party, said Israel should dismantle what he called the Palestinian Authority's “terror infrastructure” and prevent armed groups from operating in the territory.
He said the Israeli needed to go to war in the West Bank, “to do there what we did in Gaza, to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, which is a terror authority”.
He called for such action until there was “no terror infrastructure” in the West Bank: “No terrorists, no weapons, no tunnels.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned Mr Smotrich's remarks as “dangerous calls for war” and an explicit call for escalation, annexation and displacement.
The ministry said Mr Smotrich was aiming to undermine prospects for an independent Palestinian state.
It described his remarks as a reflection of policies pursued by the Israeli government through what the ministry called killing, displacement, settlement expansion, land seizure and attempts to impose a new reality by force in the occupied Palestinian territory.
'International silence'
“The Palestinian Authority and the institutions of the State of Palestine are integral to the Palestinian national project and to the realisation of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state,” the ministry said, warning that any attempt to undermine or dismantle them would carry “full responsibility for its consequences”.
The ministry also warned that continued international silence over such statements would encourage the Israeli government to advance its policies and push the region towards further instability.
It called on the international community, particularly the UN Security Council and the US, to take “immediate, concrete measures” to compel Israel to end what it described as crimes, halt settlement expansion, annexation and displacement, and protect Palestinians and their national institutions.
“There can be no security, stability or peace through war, killing, displacement and settlement expansion,” the ministry said.
It said the path to peace lay in ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international law, relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
Israel captured the West Bank in 1967, and the territory has since been under Israeli military occupation. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jewish settlers have moved to the territory, with illegal settlement expansion accelerating rapidly under the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The UN and most countries regard the settlements as illegal under international law governing military occupations. Israel disputes that interpretation and says the territory's status is disputed.
The Israeli minister also called for Israel to annex areas of the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon currently held by Israeli forces, describing territorial annexation as a response to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack and Hezbollah's involvement in the ensuing regional conflict. More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war.
Mr Smotrich, a prominent member of Mr Netanyahu's governing coalition, has previously advocated re-establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza, extending Israel's border in Lebanon to the Litani and annexing large parts of the West Bank.
His latest remarks come at a pivotal time for Israel, ahead of a crucial election at the end of October.
