2025 is year Israeli 'sovereignty' will be imposed on West Bank: Finance minister

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – Next year, 2025, will mark the year of applying Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, thus ending “the threat” of a Palestinian state, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday, defying international law under which the West Bank is occupied Palestinian territory.

Speaking at a meeting of the Religious Zionism Party, which he leads, Smotrich also congratulated Donald Trump on his US presidential election victory last week, according to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

Smotrich criticized the current US administration under President Joe Biden, saying: “After years during which the current administration regrettably chose to interfere in Israeli democracy and refused to cooperate with me personally as Israel's finance minister, I congratulate the newly elected administration and look forward to joint efforts to strengthen economic and trade relations between the two countries.”

He further argued that Trump's win brings a valuable opportunity for Israel, saying that in his first term, in 2017-2021, “Trump led significant moves, including relocating the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, acknowledging Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and legitimizing settlements in Judea and Samaria (biblical names for the West Bank).”

Smotrich also highlighted the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.

“We were on the verge of applying sovereignty over settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) before the Biden administration,” Smotrich said. “Now, it’s time to act.”

He also said there is a broad consensus within both the Israeli coalition and opposition against the establishment of a Palestinian state, which he argued would threaten Israel’s existence.

- 'Secret plan' for Israel to annex West Bank

The far-right minister, defying international law, declared that “the only way to remove the threat of a Palestinian state from the agenda is to apply Israeli sovereignty over the settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).”

Smotrich vowed that 2025 will be the year for Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank. He said he had instructed the Settlement Division and the Civil Administration, both under the Defense Ministry, to begin preparations for the necessary infrastructure to implement this policy.

Preemptively anticipating objections, Smotrich said: “Even if there are some who will protest, including from Arab states, we have already proven through the Abraham Accords that when Israel stands firm, it gains support and recognition from both the US and neighboring Arab countries.”

Later, Smotrich wrote on X “2025 - The year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”

This is not the first time Smotrich has raised the issue. In June, he confirmed reports from The New York Times that he had a “secret plan” to annex the West Bank and thwart any efforts to incorporate it into a future Palestinian state.

On July 19, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) reaffirmed Palestinians’ right to self-determination, asserting that Israeli settlements on occupied land must be dismantled.

In an advisory opinion regarding the consequences of Israeli occupation in Palestinian territories, the court ruled that the occupied Palestinian territories constitute a “single territorial unit” to be protected and respected.

The ICJ also stated that Israeli policies in these areas amount to de facto annexation and expressed doubt that extending Israeli law to include the West Bank and East Jerusalem could be justified.

Israel daily Hayom also reported that senior officials in the Israeli government have begun drafting plans to extend sovereignty over certain settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank, approve thousands of housing units, and lift sanctions on settlers.

According to Israeli estimates, more than 720,000 illegal settlers live in settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Under international law, however, settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are considered illegal.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio