Israel’s Smotrich unveils plan to annex majority of West Bank 

Israel’s finance minister and de facto "governor" of the West Bank, Bezalel Smotrich, has unveiled a controversial plan to annex the vast majority of the occupied Palestinian territory.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Smotrich proposed absorbing 82 percent of the West Bank into Israel, a move that would effectively eliminate the prospect of a future Palestinian state.

He said the plan was prepared by the Settlement Administration within the Ministry of Defence.

Under the proposal, only six isolated enclaves - where major Palestinian cities such as Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus, Ramallah, Jericho and Hebron are located - would remain outside of Israeli control. All other areas, including dozens of towns and villages, would be formally annexed.

Smotrich described the principle behind the plan as taking control of “maximum land with minimum [Palestinian] population”.

“We can never allow an existential threat to establish itself among us, and after decades of hesitation, it is time to state this clearly and act accordingly,” he declared.

“It is time to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria [the biblical term for the West Bank] and remove, once and for all, the idea of dividing our small land and establishing a terrorist state in its heart.”

The minister presented a map illustrating the proposal, which bore the official logo of the Ministry of Defence.

The map presented by Finance Minister Smotrich proposes Israel annexing 82% of Judea and Samaria — and has the Ministry of Defense’s logo on it. pic.twitter.com/u6xrE2Ws9l

— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) September 3, 2025

According to the plan, the Palestinian Authority (PA) - which was established under the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation and serves as the internationally recognised governing body in parts of the West Bank - would be gradually dismantled. 

In its place, Smotrich suggested the establishment of “regional civilian management alternatives”.

If the PA were to resist, it would be “destroyed”, he warned.

“Judea and Samaria are not disputed territory; they are the inheritance of our ancestors for generations,” Smotrich said. “There will never, and can never be, a Palestinian state in our land.”

Annexation push 

The Palestinian foreign ministry strongly condemned Smotrich’s remarks, calling them a “continuous and direct threat to the realisation of a Palestinian state,” according to the official Wafa news agency.

The Israeli government and several senior officials have increasingly and publicly advocated for the annexation of the West Bank, a move that would effectively bring an end to the two-state solution.

In July, Israel’s parliament passed a non-binding resolution calling for the annexation of the territory. 

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While the proposal carries no legal weight and does not alter the official status of the West Bank, it is widely seen as a symbolic step designed to build momentum towards future unilateral action.

Earlier this week, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar reportedly hinted to his American counterpart Marco Rubio that the government is quietly moving towards “applying sovereignty” over the occupied Palestinian territory, a euphemism commonly used in Israel to refer to annexation.

Annexation of occupied territory is illegal under international law. 

Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has annexed occupied East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights in moves never recognised by the international community.

Additionally, under the 1993 Oslo Agreement, the West Bank was divided into three areas, with the PA exerting limited control of areas A and B, and Israel taking full control of Area C, which covers over 60 percent of the territory.

Under international law, the entire territory covering Areas A, B and C is Palestinian land and all Israeli settlements there are illegal.