Smotrich calls for West Bank war, dismantling Palestinian Authority and annexation plans

Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Sunday for the annexation of parts of south Lebanon and the Gaza Strip and for Israeli forces to “go to war” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. “I would like us to annex at least as far as the yellow line in Gaza and as far as the Litani River in Lebanon… because if a war ends along the same lines where it began, what will deter the enemy from going to war again?” Smotrich said in a podcast for Israeli news site Ynet. The “yellow line” demarcates the area of Gaza already under Israeli military control after the recent conflict triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023. “I think we need to go to war in Judea and Samaria, to dismantle the Palestinian Authority that supports terror,” he added, using the biblical term for the West Bank. Smotrich is the leader of a far-right party that advocates the annexation of the entire West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967. Various Israeli political leaders, both in the ruling right-wing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and in the opposition, have come out against the establishment of a Palestinian state. The country is heading for elections on Oct 27, with Netanyahu locked in a tight contest as he seeks to stay in power. The Palestinian Authority condemned Smotrich’s call for war in the West Bank on Sunday. “His statements are an explicit call for escalation, annexation and displacement, aimed at undermining the prospects of an independent Palestinian state,” the Ramallah-based authority said in a statement. The West Bank has already seen a surge in violence since the outbreak of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. At least 1,110 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian official figures. Israeli figures show at least 49 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations during the same period. Settler attacks against Palestinians have soared in recent months, often with little or no legal consequence. Netanyahu has dismissed settlers’ violence against Palestinians, saying it is perpetrated by a “handful of rioters”. More than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements, which are illegal under international law, in the Palestinian territory among some three million Palestinians.

'Do there what we did in Gaza': Smotrich calls for full-scale war in occupied West Bank Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for Israel to “go to war” in the occupied West Bank and “do there what we did in Gaza”, as the country heads towards general elections next month. Smotrich, the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, in an interview with Ynet’s 120 and One political podcast, also reasserted his demand for dismantling the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the occupied West Bank. The call for a full-scale Israeli war comes amid relentless settler violence and movement restrictions across the West Bank.  On Sunday, Israeli authorities ordered a "comprehensive closure" of the crossings into the occupied territory for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.  Israeli forces tightened restrictions around the West Bank city of Ramallah, closing roads and entrances to several towns and villages, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Local sources told Wafa that the entrance gate to Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, was closed and residents were “harassed”. Wafa also reported that entrances to Aboud, Nabi Saleh, Atara and Taybeh were closed, while military checkpoints were set up at the entrances to Yabroud and Ein Sinyah.  Smotrich, who is a leading advocate of expanding illegal Israeli settlements and extending Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, also defended his wider political agenda ahead of the 27 October elections. Read more: Smotrich calls for full-scale war in occupied West Bank   Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is surrounded by Israeli settlers during a settlement ceremony of Sa-Nur, in the occupied West Bank, on 19 April 2026 (Marco Longari/AFP)

'Do there what we did in Gaza': Smotrich calls for full-scale war in occupied West Bank Submitted by MEE staff on Sun, 09/27/2026 - 11:21 Finance minister says Israel should dismantle the Palestinian Authority and expand Israeli territorial control of occupied territory Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is surrounded by Israeli settlers during a settlement ceremony of Sa-Nur, in the occupied West Bank, on 19 April 2026 (Marco Longari/AFP) Off Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for Israel to “go to war” in the occupied West Bank and “do there what we did in Gaza”, as the country heads towards general elections next month. Smotrich, the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, in an interview with Ynet’s 120 and One political podcast, also reasserted his demand for dismantling the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the occupied West Bank. The call for a full-scale Israeli war comes amid relentless settler violence and movement restrictions across the West Bank.  On Sunday, Israeli authorities ordered a "comprehensive closure" of the crossings into the occupied territory for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.  Israeli forces tightened restrictions around the West Bank city of Ramallah, closing roads and entrances to several towns and villages, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Local sources told Wafa that the entrance gate to Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, was closed and residents were “harassed”. Wafa also reported that entrances to Aboud, Nabi Saleh, Atara and Taybeh were closed, while military checkpoints were set up at the entrances to Yabroud and Ein Sinyah.  Smotrich, who is a leading advocate of expanding illegal Israeli settlements and extending Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, also defended his wider political agenda ahead of the 27 October elections. “I don’t turn my back on my partners,” he said, rejecting the possibility of joining a unity government between rival political blocs. Smotrich announces plan to judaise Negev and Galilee Read More » “I am part of the national camp, which shares a broad common denominator of Jewish identity, Zionism, love of the land, settlement and a distinct security doctrine.” When asked about former Israeli military officer Ofer Winter, who is running a new political party, Smotrich accused him of taking an “irresponsible gamble” that could compromise Israel's security. “There is a 99.9 percent chance he won’t cross the threshold,” Smotrich said. “Anyone voting for him is throwing their vote in the trash, and that is what will bring the left to power, establish a Palestinian state and erode Israel’s Jewish identity.” Amcha Yisrael, the group for which Winter is a spokesperson, rejected Smotrich’s assessment, accusing Israel’s political leadership of failing to win what it called a decisive victory in Gaza. “Three years after October 7, there is no decisive victory in Gaza and no voluntary migration,” said the party. “The failed mindset persists.” Smotrich also rejected the idea of working with Raam, an Arab-led party that has been part of Israeli coalition politics, saying in the interview that its leadership ultimately sought Israel’s destruction.  Pressure in the West Bank  Smotrich's comments come as conditions deteriorate in the occupied West Bank. In an August report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said Israeli settlement outposts had increasingly encroached on areas of the West Bank over which the Palestinian Authority exercises limited administrative control. Israeli settlement outposts, previously concentrated in Area C, were increasingly extending into Area B, the agency said, adding that violence and threats have been used to restrict Palestinian access to land.  Israel displaces hundreds of Palestinians amid wave of demolitions in West Bank Read More » According to the Israeli organisation Peace Now, settlers have taken over more than 100,000 dunams (10,000 hectares) of land in Areas A and B of the West Bank. As of July, the UN agency said some 850 Palestinians had been injured in settler attacks in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2026, with an average of more than three injuries a day attributed to settler attacks. The UN says the West Bank is already criss-crossed by a vast array of Israeli checkpoints, gates, barriers and permit restrictions. In December 2025, Ocha recorded 925 obstacles to movement, saying the system, along with the separation barrier, severely restricts Palestinian movement. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and that new settlement activity must cease.  The court also found that measures almost entirely separating Israeli settlers from Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem violated the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The UN has repeatedly stated that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory have no legal validity under international law. It has also warned that expansion of settlements and related measures risk further dispossession and displacement of Palestinians. 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Smotrich calls for doing in West Bank 'what we did in Gaza' Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called on Israel to “go to war” in the West Bank and “do what we did in Gaza.”  “I certainly have solutions” to the situation in the West Bank, he told a podcast on Ynet outlet.  “I think we need to go to war in Judea and Samaria, to do there what we did in Gaza, to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, which is a terror authority,” he said. He also called on Israel to annex southern Lebanon and the areas of Gaza still under Israeli control. Smotrich has previously called on Israel to annex more than 80 percent of the West Bank.  His campaign for next month’s election has frequently called for a significant expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.