Ramallah: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned on Wednesday statements made by extremist far-right Israeli occupation Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, particularly his provocative calls to deepen colonialism and annex the occupied West Bank.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the Ministry considered these remarks an extension of a series of provocative positions made by more than one Israeli occupation official, which fall within the framework of committing further crimes of colonialism, annexation, genocide, and displacement of Palestinians.
The Ministry affirmed that all illegal unilateral measures and plans by the occupation to alter the historical, political, and legal status quo in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, will not establish a legitimate occupation in the occupied Palestinian territory. “These measures are considered illegitimate and void in their essence, and constitute a disregard for the international consensus that rejects the crimes of occupation and colonialism in all their forms,” it added.
Smotrich held a press conference, in which he said that Israeli occupation is absolutely opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state as it “poses a threat to Israel’s security.” He stated that there is a wide consensus on the annexation of the West Bank, and that “the time has come for annexation and the elimination of the Palestinian state option,” attacking countries that will recognize Palestine during the UN General Assembly meeting this month. Annexation of the West Bank is the tool to counter the political attack on Israel through international recognition, added Smotrich, and threatened to destroy the Palestinian Authority, as they did in the Gaza Strip, if it thought of acting against Israeli occupation.