Israel's Smotrich calls for war in West Bank, annexation of Gaza and Lebanon

September 27, 2026 at 07:03 PM2 min

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Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a full-scale war in the occupied West Bank, urging the military to repeat tactics used in Gaza. He also called for annexing southern Lebanon and Gaza territories under Israeli control. The comments come about a month before Israel's general election.

Key Facts

Smotrich told Ynet News in an interview published on Sunday that Israel should "go to war" in the occupied West Bank and repeat what it "did in Gaza".
He called for dismantling the Palestinian Authority, which he described as a "terror authority".
Smotrich has been sanctioned by a number of Western countries along with Cabinet colleague Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Suhad Bishara, legal director of Adalah, said Smotrich is "already waging" a war on Palestinians in the West Bank.

Smotrich's Call for War

In an interview with Ynet News published on Sunday, Smotrich said Israel should "go to war" in the occupied West Bank and "do there what we did in Gaza". He referred to the West Bank by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria, and called for dismantling the Palestinian Authority, which he called a "terror authority". Smotrich said Israeli forces have "cleared out" Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank and that the military should ensure "no terrorists, no weapons, no tunnels" remain. He also called for the annexation of southern Lebanon and Gaza's territories under Israeli control.

Reactions and Context

Suhad Bishara, legal director of Adalah – the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, said Smotrich is "not only proposing a 'war' on Palestinians in the West Bank, he is already waging one". Bishara added that the refugee camps Smotrich boasts of having "cleared out" have been destroyed and their residents forcibly displaced. Smotrich's comments come about a month before Israel's general election, amid a surge in Israeli and settler violence in the occupied territories. Since Israel launched its war in Gaza, it has stepped up its crackdown in the West Bank, arresting thousands, many without formal charges.