PM Netanyahu must order annexation of the West Bank if the International Court of Justice rules Israeli occupation is illegal, far-right minister says.
Hardline Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the prime minister to annex the occupied West Bank if the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rules Israeli settlements are illegal this week.
Smotrich told reporters, âno one will move the people of Israel from their landâ, the Times of Israel quoted him as saying on Monday.
The UNâs top court is expected to deliver a non-binding ruling on the legal ramifications of Israelâs occupation of Palestinian territories on Friday.
âI hereby call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu â if the International Court of Justice in The Hague does decide that the settlement enterprise is illegal â respond to them with a historic decision of applying sovereignty to the territories of the homeland,â said Smotrich.
The far-right minister also promised to âthwart the establishment of a Palestinian state through massive construction, regulating settlements, building roads and other measures in the fieldâ â all moves illegal under international law.
Fifty-two countries presented arguments at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, about the legal consequences of Israelâs actions in the occupied territories in February, after the UN General Assembly asked it in 2022 for an advisory opinion.
Israel seized the West Bank in 1967 as well as Gaza and East Jerusalem â the longest military occupation in modern history.
According to international law, an occupying power cannot move its citizens into occupied land. Israelâs Supreme Court confirmed this in 2005.
Itâs not the first time Smotrich â who lives in an illegal settlement himself â has called for the seizure of Palestinian land.
Last month, Israelâs hardline coalition government approved plans for thousands of new housing units in the occupied West Bank and gave Smotrich sweeping powers to expedite the construction of illegal settlements â bypassing measures in place for 27 years.
Netanyahuâs Likud party has also pledged to âadvance and develop settlement in all parts of the land of Israel â in the Galilee, Negev, Golan Heights, and Judea and Samariaâ â the biblical names for the occupied West Bank.
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, said the move would only escalate tensions in the region, while Fatah warned âthe settlers will be removed from the West Bank as they were removed from the Gaza Stripâ.