JERUSALEM/ANKARA

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged full sovereignty over the West Bank, claiming that the international recognition of a Palestinian state poses a “foolish and existential danger” to the Jewish people and Israel.

“The idea of establishing a Palestinian state is both foolish and an existential threat to the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” said Smotrich through the US social media company X.

He added that Israel is determined to “remove” the concept from the global agenda, citing his approval of the illegal settlement plan in the West Bank, known as the E1 project, as “a huge step in this direction.”

Addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly, Smotrich said: “Mr. Prime Minister, the time has come to assert full sovereignty (over the West Bank). Everything is ready for this.”

On Thursday, Israeli media reported that Smotrich approved the construction of 3,401 settler units in Ma’ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and 3,515 more in surrounding areas. The project aims to split the West Bank into two parts, severing connections between its northern and southern cities, and isolating East Jerusalem.

Several countries, including France, the UK, Malta, Canada, and Portugal, have announced plans to recognize the Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York in September.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, at least 1,014 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Health Ministry.

In an advisory opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.