Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrichinsisted on Monday that preventing the creation of a Palestinian state is the “mission” of his life and assured that for him it is a national and existential objective, not a political one.
“My life mission is to build the land of Israel and to thwart the creation of a Palestinian state that would endanger the State of Israel.”the extremist settler said in X in response to an article published today by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronothwhich accuses Smotrich of having taken ‘de facto’ control over civil affairs in West Bank busy.
The minister, who has already expressed himself in the same terms on previous occasions, criticized the fact that the headline about his annexation policies occupied more space on the front page of the newspaper than the death yesterday of three Israelis, in a shooting perpetrated by a Jordanian, at the border crossing of Allenbywhich connects the eastern West Bank with Jordan.
Smotrich made it clear that he intends to do everything in his power to ensure that the approximately half million Jewish settlers living in the West Bank (in settlements considered illegal by the international community) have the same status as other Israelis, which would be equivalent in practice to annexation of Palestinian territory.
Settlement policy receives unprecedented support from the Government of Benjamin Netanyahuthe most extremist in the history of the country, dependent on the parties of Smotrich, Religious Zionismand the party Jewish Power of the equally extremist Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvirboth staunch defenders of the occupation.
According to an article published today by Yedioth Ahronoth, Smotrich has taken over the Israeli army’s powers in the West Bank, building a parallel administration thanks to his powers in the Ministry of Defense, which allow him to manage affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory such as the expansion and legalization of new settlements.
Since the start of 2024, a record-breaking year, Israel has declared more than 2,300 hectares in the occupied West Bank as state land, a mechanism it uses, along with the designation of nature reserves and military training areas, to confiscate territory and expel the Palestinian population.
In addition, the Israeli government has begun the process of legalizing at least 21 Jewish settlements in the West Bank since taking power in January 2023, according to data from the Israeli organization Peace Nowwhich studies settlement policy. EFE (I)
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