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JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right finance minister said on Wednesday that maps were being drawn up for annexing territory in the occupied West Bank, land the Palestinians seek for a state, although it was unclear if he had Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s support.
At a press conference in Jerusalem, Bezalel Smotrich stood before a map that suggested the possible annexation of most of the West Bank with the exception of six large Palestinian cities, including Ramallah and Nablus.
Smotrich said he wanted “maximum territory and minimum (Palestinian) population” to be brought under Israeli sovereignty, urging Netanyahu to accept his plan that is being drawn up by a department under Smotrich’s supervision in the Defense Ministry.
“The time has come to apply Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, to remove once and for all from the agenda the idea of dividing our tiny land and establishing a terror state in its center,” he said, using biblical names widely used in Israel and the administrative name used by the state to describe the area.
“Who can defend a state with such small strategic depth? And this is why the goal of the sovereignty is to remove, once and for all, a Palestinian state from the agenda. And this is done when applying (sovereignty) to all of the territory, other than Arab population centers. I have no interest in letting them enjoy what the state of Israel has to offer,” he said.
Smotrich, a settler leader, has long called for annexation of the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and which is among territories the Palestinians seek for a future independent state.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond on Wednesday to a request for comment on the prime minister’s position on the matter.
However, the prospect of any concrete steps by the Netanyahu government, which would likely entail a lengthy legislative process, is unclear.
Any step toward annexation would likely draw widespread condemnation from Arab and Western countries. It is unclear where US President Donald Trump stands on the matter.
Speaking after Smotrich made his remarks, an official from the United Arab Emirates said Israeli annexation of the West Bank would be a “red line” for the UAE, which established formal ties with Israel in 2020 under US-brokered accords.
A spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that “any annexation or settlement activity by Israel is illegitimate, condemned, and unacceptable.”
Abdel Hakim Hanini, an official of the Palestinian militant group Hamas which is a rival of Abbas’ Fatah, said annexing the West Bank would not bring Israel the security it seeks and instead “lead to further resistance and confrontation.”
Israel, which is facing mounting international criticism over the war in Gaza, has been angered by pledges by France, Britain, Australia and Canada to formally recognize a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly in September.
Reuters reported on Sunday that Israel was considering annexing the West Bank as a possible response to those pledges.
The United Nations’ highest court said in 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, and its settlements there were illegal and should end as soon as possible.
Israel says the territories are not occupied in legal terms because they are disputed.

QAMISHLI, Syria: Syrian Kurdish forces said Wednesday they thwarted an escape attempt by more than 50 inmates of Al-Hol camp, which holds people suspected of ties to the Daesh group.
Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria have run camps hosting thousands of suspected militants and their families since the militant group lost its last territory in Syria six years ago.
Kurdish security forces said they thwarted a “mass escape attempt” from the Al-Hol camp by several Daesh families on Tuesday “numbering 56 individuals.”
They added that the detainees attempted to escape “using a large vehicle.”
Kurdish security forces detected “suspicious activity yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, when a group of people were seen boarding a vehicle in an abnormal manner,” they said in a statement.
The troops “stopped the vehicle as it attempted to pass through the main gate, arresting all those inside.”
Al-Hol houses approximately 27,000 people, including some 15,000 Syrians and about 6,300 foreign women and children from 42 nationalities, in addition to some 5,000 Iraqis, camp director Jihan Hanan told AFP in August.
Since Daesh’s defeat, the Kurdish-run administration has repeatedly called on foreign governments to repatriate their nationals.
Despite repeated warnings from international organizations of the dire conditions in the camps, many Western governments have refused to repatriate their citizens.
Neighbouring Iraq, however, has repatriated around 17,000 people, mostly women and children.
In February, Kurdish official Sheikhmous Ahmed said the administration aimed to empty the camps of Iraqis and displaced Syrians by the end of the year.