Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for war in the occupied West Bank, urging Israel to use its Gaza tactics and dismantle the Palestinian Authority. A human rights lawyer and analysts warned his remarks were not merely election rhetoric.
In a Ynet News interview, Smotrich also said he wanted Israel to annex territory up to Gaza’s “Yellow Line” and up to Lebanon’s Litani River, linking the proposals to making Israel’s enemies pay for the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack. Israeli military maps indicate the Yellow Line covers roughly 58 percent of Gaza.
Adalah legal director Suhad Bishara said refugee camps Smotrich boasted Israel had “cleared out” were destroyed and residents forcibly displaced. International Crisis Group analyst Mairav Zonszein said his remarks reflected policies pursued in the West Bank over the past four years; Chatham House analyst Yossi Mekelberg said campaign rhetoric could become policy. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the remarks an invitation to escalate and said they threatened prospects for an independent Palestinian state.
