Trump’s victory an opportunity to ‘apply sovereignty’ in the West Bank, says Israeli minister
Donald Trump’s election as the next president of the United States provides Israel with the opportunity to advance the annexation of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared on Monday.
Addressing the press ahead of his Religious Zionism party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Smotrich welcomed Trump’s victory over incumbent Joe Biden, whose administration he complained had “unfortunately chosen to intervene in Israeli democracy and personally not to cooperate with me.”
The Republican politician’s first term in 2017-2021 was positive for Israel, Smotrich stated, citing the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem, the recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, and the Trump White House’s decision to declare that Israel’s West Bank settlements were consistent with international law.
Trump’s new presidency presents an “important opportunity” to “apply Israeli sovereignty to the settlements in Judea and Samaria,” added Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry, referring to areas of the West Bank by their biblical names. [Continue reading…]