A call from Israel’s ultranationalist finance minister to use Donald Trump’s election win as an opportunity to annex parts of the occupied West Bank has drawn international condemnation and fueled fears about the U.S. ally’s plans.
Bezalel Smotrich said Monday that “the time has come” to extend Israeli sovereignty over settlements in the area — land recognized by the international community as belonging to Palestinians in their quest for a future state.
The Israeli minister welcomed the president-elect’s victory and said he would seek Trump’s support for the move.
“I intend, with God’s help, to lead a government decision that says that the government of Israel will work with the new administration of President Trump and the international community to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria,” he said, using a name employed by many Israelis for the West Bank.
Discussions on plans to annex parts of the West Bank were held between Israel and Washington during Trump’s first term, and Smotrich said that he would push his government to engage with the incoming administration to gain support.
“We will apply the sovereignty, together with our American friends,” he added.
Smotrich added that he would seek international recognition for sovereignty over the West Bank, but his announcement quickly drew global condemnation.
A State Department spokesperson called the comments “disturbing” and “not conducive to building an enduring peace.”
The Biden administration has “reiterated consistently the clear position of the United States in support of a two-state solution as part of a negotiated process that provides for an independent Palestinian state, with security guarantees for Israel,” the spokesperson said.
Germany’s ambassador in Israel, Steffen Seibert, “strongly condemned” Smotrich’s statement, which he said was “an open call for annexation.”
“Any preparation to implement this goal is in full breach of international law,” he wrote on X.
Condemning Smotrich’s call “in the strongest possible terms,” Qatar’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement that it represented a “blatant violation of international law.”
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