Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich calls for war in occupied West Bank

Smotrich comments come as Israeli authorities announce a week-long comprehensive military closure across the occupied West Bank, citing the Jewish holiday Sukkot.Published On 27 Sep 202627 Sep 2026Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says the Israeli military should “go to war” in the occupied West Bank and repeat what it “did in Gaza”.Using a biblical term for the occupied West Bank, the minister told Ynet News in an interview published on Sunday that Israel needs to “go to war in Judea and Samaria, to do there what we did in Gaza, to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, which is a terror authority”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Al Jazeera rejects Netanyahu’s attack on journalists in UN speechlist 2 of 3How Israel’s ‘Blue Line’ team seizes Palestinian land in the West Banklist 3 of 3Israel bans Arab parties from election: Who they are, why it mattersend of listSmotrich was responding to a question on how Israel should combat the increasing “security tensions” in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli violence against Palestinians has been steadily growing since the eruption of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, but the attacks have intensified si...