Far-Right Minister Calls for Israeli Sovereignty in West Bank in 2025

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel's new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, August 17, 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel's new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, August 17, 2023. (Reuters)
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Far-Right Minister Calls for Israeli Sovereignty in West Bank in 2025

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel's new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, August 17, 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel's new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, August 17, 2023. (Reuters)

Israel's far-right finance minister said on Monday he hoped Israel would extend sovereignty into the occupied West Bank in 2025 and that he would push the government to engage the incoming Trump administration to gain Washington's support.

Israel's foreign minister said separately that while no decision was made, the issue could come up in talks with the future US administration in Washington.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also wields a defense ministry supervisory role for settlers as part of his coalition deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said he hopes the incoming Trump administration in Washington will recognize an Israeli sovereignty push.

Smotrich has for years called for Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank, land Palestinians want for a future state.

At a meeting of his far-right faction in parliament on Monday, Smotrich said he had instructed Israeli authorities overseeing West Bank settlements "to begin professional and comprehensive staff work to prepare the necessary infrastructure" for extending sovereignty, according to a statement from his office.

He also said he would push the government to engage the incoming Trump administration to recognize such a move.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that while leaders of the settler movement may be confident that incoming President Donald Trump could be inclined to support such moves, the government had made no decision.

"A decision has not yet been made on the issue," Saar told a news conference in Jerusalem.

"The last time we discussed this issue was in the first term of President Trump," he said. "And so let's say that if it will be relevant, it will be discussed again also with our friends in Washington."

The United States has for decades backed a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians and has urged Israel not to expand settlements.

The West Bank is among territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and where Palestinians, with international support, seek statehood. Most world powers deem the settlements illegal. Israel disputes that, citing historical claims to the West Bank and describing it as a security bulwark.



Palestinian Officials Say Israeli Forces Killed 2 People, Including a 13-Year-Old, in the West Bank

 People attend the funeral of two Palestinians killed in an Israeli raid, in Yabad near Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
People attend the funeral of two Palestinians killed in an Israeli raid, in Yabad near Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Palestinian Officials Say Israeli Forces Killed 2 People, Including a 13-Year-Old, in the West Bank

 People attend the funeral of two Palestinians killed in an Israeli raid, in Yabad near Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
People attend the funeral of two Palestinians killed in an Israeli raid, in Yabad near Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)

The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Monday Israeli forces killed two people, including a 13-year-old, in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military said the two had thrown explosives at forces overnight near the Palestinian town of Yabad and that the forces had responded by opening fire.

The Health Ministry identified the two as Mohammed Hamarsheh, 13, and Ahmad Zayd, 20. It did not disclose details about the circumstances behind their deaths.

It was the latest bloodshed in the West Bank, which has faced a surge of violence throughout the 13-month war in Gaza. The Health Ministry says nearly 800 people have been killed, with more than 160 of them 18 and younger.

Many have been killed in fighting with the Israeli military, but Palestinians throwing rocks and others not involved in confrontations have also been killed. There has also been an increase in Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began.