Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel is “taking the idea of a ‘Palestinian’ state off the table,” declaring that his government’s policies are designed to prevent the establishment of an independent ‘Palestine’.
1+Speaking at the channel 14 Security conference, Smotrich—who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry overseeing policy—said the current government is actively working to eliminate the two-state solution through a combination of expansion Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, security operations, and administrative control over the Judea and Samaria.
“We are systematically dismantling the possibility of a ‘Palestinian’ state,” Smotrich said, pointing to increased construction in towns, military operations against ‘Palestinian’ militants, and what he described as Israel’s deepening control over the territories.
1+Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, has long opposed ‘Palestinian’ statehood and advocates for Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria. His comments reflect the position of the far-right elements in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, which includes parties explicitly opposed to territorial concessions.