Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said it was his life’s mission to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, saying his mission was “not political, but national and existential.”
The leader of the far-right religious Zionist party said this through the X platform: “My life’s mission is to establish the Land of Israel and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger the state of Israel,” he claimed.
“This is why, in addition to my position as finance minister, I have been given responsibility for civil affairs in Judea and Samaria, the occupied West Bank,” he explained.
In addition to being Minister of Finance, Smotrich also serves as Minister of Defense, responsible for settlement affairs in the West Bank.
“We will continue to work with all our might to ensure that the 500,000 settlers under fire on the front lines enjoy the rights of all Israeli citizens,” he said, referring to settlers in the West Bank. .
The number of settlers in the West Bank is estimated at more than 500,000, while the number of settlers in occupied East Jerusalem is more than 230,000.
Smotrich opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, supports West Bank settlement, and supports annexing West Bank land to Israel.
The United Nations has called for decades in vain to stop settlements in occupied territories, saying they are illegal and undermine the possibility of implementing a two-state solution (Israel and Palestine).
For decades, Palestinians have been demanding an end to Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In parallel with the war in Gaza, which began on October 7, the Israeli occupation forces expanded their operations and settlers expanded their attacks on the West Bank, resulting in 692 Palestinians being martyred, approximately 5,700 injured, and over 500 arrested. 10,400, according to official Palestinian agencies.
