According to TRTworld, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced a sweeping plan to annex 82 percent of the occupied West Bank, a move that would effectively kill hopes for a Palestinian state just weeks before several Western nations are expected to recognise Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly.
Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Smotrich, who also leads the far-right Religious Zionism Party, said the plan was designed to cement Israeli sovereignty over the territory.
“Israeli sovereignty will be applied to 82 percent of the territory,” he declared. “It is time to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and remove once and for all the idea of dividing our small land.”
The minister outlined a controversial framework where the Palestinian Authority would continue managing limited affairs for Palestinian residents but hinted that it would eventually be replaced with what he called “regional civilian management alternatives.”
The driving principle behind the plan, Smotrich explained, was to secure “the maximum land with minimum Arab population.”
“There will never, and can never be, a Palestinian state in our land,” he said, vowing that any resistance would be crushed. “If the Palestinian Authority dares to rise up and try to harm us, we will destroy them just as we do to Hamas.”
His remarks come at a sensitive diplomatic moment. At least a dozen Western and Arab countries are preparing to back formal recognition of Palestinian statehood during the UN General Assembly in September, in what some diplomats describe as a potential “sprint” toward a two-state solution.
For Palestinians, Smotrich’s announcement signals a deepening crisis. Annexing such a large portion of the West Bank, including areas surrounding East Jerusalem and major settlement blocs, would fragment Palestinian communities and leave them with only isolated enclaves under limited self-rule.
Rights groups and international legal experts have long warned that unilateral annexation of occupied land violates international law. Critics say it would entrench a system of apartheid-like separation, making a negotiated peace nearly impossible.
Smotrich, however, framed the move as a “preventative step” against growing international pressure. “The world needs to understand that there is no Palestinian state coming,” he told reporters.
As September’s UN session approaches, the clash between international recognition efforts and Israel’s hardline stance appears set to escalate, pushing the question of Palestinian sovereignty back to the center of global diplomacy.
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