Smotrich Says Israel Will Not Allow Creation of Palestinian State
Occupied Palestine (Quds News Network)- Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel will work to “strengthen our hold on all parts of our country” and will not allow Palestinians to “establish a Palestinian state.”
“We will not allow the Arabs to sever Gush Etzion and Jerusalem, nor will we allow them to establish a Palestinian state that would endanger our existence here,” he wrote in a post on X.
ממשיכים לפעול לחיזוק אחיזתנו בכל חבלי ארצנו. לא נאפשר לערבים לנתק בין גוש עציון וירושלים ולא נאפשר להם להקים מדינה פלסטינית שתסכן את קיומנו כאן. pic.twitter.com/2e89YvdkI2
— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) December 17, 2024
It came in reaction to a report in Israeli media that said he is “preparing the ground” for a second presidency of Donald Trump in the US, pushing for annexation of more Palestinian land and more Israeli construction in the occupied West Bank.
Smotrich is working to create territorial continuity between Jerusalem and illegal Israeli settlements in Gush Etzion in the occupied West Bank to bolster Israeli control.
In November, Smotrich said: “Trump’s victory also brings with it an important opportunity for the State of Israel. We were a step away from applying sovereignty to the settlements in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], and now is the time to do it.”
Smotrich has repeatedly called for the military occupation of Gaza and is a staunch supporter of rapidly expanding Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, which are illegal under international law.
