Israeli Ministers Push for West Bank Annexation

(MENAFN) Several officials within Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration have advocated for the immediate incorporation of the occupied West Bank, as an increasing number of nations globally move to acknowledge a Palestinian state.

Over the past weekend, the UK, Canada, Portugal, and Australia formally recognized the State of Palestine.

This development coincides with preparations by more than 140 world leaders to attend this week’s annual United Nations General Assembly summit in New York, where regional issues are expected to dominate discussions.

The declarations provoked a sharp response in Israel, with Netanyahu asserting on Sunday that there would be “no Palestinian state.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a right-wing figure within Netanyahu’s coalition, criticized the recognition as a “reward for murderers” and called for “immediate countermeasures.”

In a post on X on Sunday, he urged Israel to assert sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, the term Israel uses for the West Bank, which houses over three million Palestinians.

He further stated that the Palestinian Authority must be “crushed.”

Ben-Gvir also committed to presenting a blueprint for the West Bank’s annexation at the forthcoming cabinet session.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich similarly pressured Netanyahu to enforce sovereignty over the territory and to “remove the foolish idea of a Palestinian state from the agenda forever.”

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