Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that his recent move to legalize five illegal outposts in the West Bank comes in response to the recognition of a Palestinian state by five European countries.
"The five legalized settlements are a response to the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” he said. “We [Benjamin Netanyahu’s government] will establish new settlements for every country that does this. This way, we’ll put an end to this absurd idea.”
"We are also approving around 6,000 new housing units as part of my plan to hold back the establishment of a Palestinian state," Smotrich said. "[Yahya] Sinwar announced he launched the October 7 massacre in order to bring the Palestinian state back on the agenda, and that’s also what [Hassan] Nasrallah says. We’ll remove the subject from the agenda by establishing facts on the ground, bolstering Jewish settlements, and enacting Israeli sovereignty. First by actions and later through official legislation."
Smotrich congratulated former U.S. president Donald Trump for refusing to declare his support for a Palestinian state in his confrontation with U.S. President Joe Biden. "I have no doubt that the world will recognize and support Israel if it stands firm, removes the Palestinian state from the agenda, and enacts its sovereignty.
He further added, "We now see that even France and Europe are beginning to wake up and understand the danger of radical Islam that threatens the entire free world."
The international community criticized the government’s move, with the UK issuing a statement on Sunday reading, “The UK strongly opposes the announcement that five outposts are to be legalized in the West Bank as well as further punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority.”
“Israel must halt its illegal settlement expansion and hold to account those responsible for extremist settler violence. We are clear that actions by Israel to weaken the Palestinian Authority must stop. We call for longer-term measures to be put in place to ensure continued correspondent banking relations and assurance that Israel will release frozen funds without delay,” the statement added.