Smotrich demands West Bank war, Gaza and Lebanon annexation — SkimNews
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- Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's far-right Finance Minister, said on a Ynet podcast (September 27, 2026) that Israel should annex south Lebanon as far as the Litani River and parts of Gaza as far as the "yellow line" already under Israeli military control.
- Smotrich also called for Israel to "go to war" in the West Bank — which he termed "Judea and Samaria" — and to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, which he accused of supporting terrorism.
- The Palestinian Authority condemned the remarks as "an explicit call for escalation, annexation and displacement" aimed at destroying prospects for an independent Palestinian state.
- Israel is heading into an October 27 election with Benjamin Netanyahu locked in a tight race, while politicians across the ruling coalition and opposition have publicly rejected the creation of a Palestinian state.
- The West Bank has seen at least 1,110 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers and at least 49 Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks since the Gaza war began, according to an AFP tally.
- Settler violence against Palestinians has surged in recent months largely without legal consequence, and Netanyahu has dismissed it as the work of a "handful of rioters".
- More than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements — illegal under international law — alongside roughly three million Palestinians.
Why it matters: Coming weeks before Israel's October 27 election, Smotrich's annexation calls test whether Netanyahu will publicly repudiate his coalition partner or tacitly accept territorial expansion that international law deems illegal — a silence that would signal tacit endorsement to settlers already operating with near-impunity in the West Bank.
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