A glimpse into the sort of mind effectively controlling Israel so Netanyahu can stay in power.
Calls for Israeli Sovereignty in West Bank as Gov't Advances Controversial Plan
Smotrich vows to 'bury the idea of a Palestinian state' with 3,400 homes in E1. 'They'll talk of a Palestinian dream, we'll build a Jewish reality,' he said, as the plan deepens West Bank divisions and draws global criticism
Israel's government is expected next week to approve construction plans in the E1 area, which would cut off the northern West Bank from its southern regions.
<a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/o/x8l70/www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-07-14/ty-article/.premium/israel-renews-plans-for-controversial-construction-that-would-cut-west-bank-in-two/00000198-09aa-dd18-a7dd-09af207c0000" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The controversial plan, delayed for years under international pressure, has dramatic implications for the prospects of a two-state solution and is expected to provoke sharp criticism worldwide.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised the plan, calling it "a reality that buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there's nothing to recognize and no one to recognize it."
"Those in the world trying to recognize a Palestinian state will get an answer from us on the ground," Smotrich said earlier on Thursday, as he announced the plan's impending approval in the West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. "Not through documents, not through decisions or declarations – but through facts. Facts of homes, neighborhoods, roads and Jewish families building their lives."
He added, "They'll keep talking about a Palestinian dream – and we will continue building a Jewish reality. A reality that buries the idea of a Palestinian state – because there's nothing to recognize and no one to recognize it."
Smotrich thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that "as far as Judea and Samaria are concerned, he supported and enabled me to carry out this revolution over the past two and a half years."
Addressing Netanyahu directly, he said, "The time has come to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, to permanently remove the idea of dividing the land and to ensure that by September, Europe's hypocritical leaders will have nothing to recognize."
"This isn't just a planning initiative," Smotrich emphasized. "But a resounding Zionist statement: united Jerusalem is our eternal capital, and [the settlement of] Ma'ale Adumim is an inseparable part of it."
………………the article continues. It is in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.