Minister threatens to build new settlement for each country that recognises Palestine

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich yesterday threatened to establish a new settlement in the occupied West Bank each time a country recognises Palestine as a state, Anadolu reported.

“For every country that unilaterally recognises a Palestinian state, we will establish a new town [illegal settlement] and thus bring about the demise of the delusional idea of establishing a Palestinian state that will endanger the existence of the State of Israel,” Israeli daily Haaretz cited Smotrich telling a press conference.

Smotrich, who heads the extremist Religious Zionism Party, said last week’s decision to legalise five settlement outposts was “a response to the unilateral recognition of five countries” of Palestine as a state.

Over In the past two months, Spain, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Armenia have recognised Palestine as a state.

Smotrich also vowed to take the Palestinian state off the agenda by creating facts on the ground and applying what he called Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

Regarding Israel’s war in Gaza, Smotrich called for the formation of a military government in the Strip after reports claiming the army would soon announce the end of the “violent fighting” in the Strip and move to the third phase of the war.

He claimed that only military administration in Gaza will allow the Israeli army to occupy and control the region and prevent Hamas from returning and restoring its strength.

He said Tel Aviv should control the delivery of humanitarian aid in the Strip “in order to ensure that it does not reach Hamas.”

Under international law, all Jewish settlements and outposts in the occupied territories are illegal.

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