Israeli ministers are urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the West Bank by the end of the parliamentary session in June, citing existential threats to Israel’s settlement policies. A letter signed by 15 cabinet ministers and parliamentary speaker Amir Ohana argues that the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank would pose an “existential threat” to Israel and its settlement policy. The move should be made before the end of the parliament’s summer session on June 27. The letter also points out that the weakening of Iran and its allies in the region has created an opportunity for Israel to assert control. The October 7 massacre proved that the doctrine of settlement blocs and the establishment of a Palestinian state in the remaining territory is an existential danger to Israel, the ministers stated.
“The October 7 massacre proved that the doctrine of settlement blocs and the establishment of a Palestinian state in the remaining territory is an existential danger to Israel. It’s time for sovereignty,” the ministers wrote, referring to the 2023 attack by the Gaza-based Hamas militant organization, which led to the latest conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is not a member of the Likud Party, has praised the initiative and claimed that the Israeli Settlement Administration in the West Bank is ready to follow a government order immediately. “On the day he [Netanyahu] gives the order, the Settlement Administration under my leadership is ready … to implement the application of sovereignty immediately,” Smotrich said, emphasizing the strategic importance of the move.
The authors of the petition also argued that the current moment is appropriate due to the “strategic partnership, backing and support of the US and President Donald Trump.” The development comes ahead of Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump scheduled for next week, where they are expected to discuss a potential Gaza ceasefire and a hostage deal with Hamas. During his first presidential term, Trump moved the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, sparking waves of international condemnation in both cases.
Before the letter’s release, Justice Minister Yariv Levin made a similar call, drawing condemnation from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Riyadh called it a “violation of legitimate international resolutions,” while Cairo urged the international community to intervene. Israel seized the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 War and has been actively building settlements there – something that is widely regarded as illegal by the international community. West Jerusalem moved closer to its annexation in 2020 but dropped the idea at the time in exchange for normalization of relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.