Smotrich advocates for Palestinian ‘migration’ and full Israeli sovereignty in West Bank

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has asserted that the next Israeli government must “encourage the migration” of Palestinians from the West Bank and formalize Israeli sovereignty over the territory.

“In the long term, there is no other solution,” Smotrich stated during a conference for his Religious Zionism party. “We must complete the revolution and eliminate the prospect of an Arab terrorist state.”

Smotrich further signaled his intent to seek the formal revocation of the Oslo Accords. These remarks were made during the presentation of his “Settlement Plan 2030.” The invitation to the conference described the event as a milestone “symbolizing the settlement revolution, including the establishment of dozens of new communities, the promotion of farms, and the strengthening of Jewish dominance in Judea and Samaria.”

“Judea and Samaria” is the biblical designation employed by Zionist settlers to refer to the West Bank.

According to reporting by Haaretz, dozens of Palestinian communities have been forcibly displaced from their ancestral lands due to systemic settler harassment following the October 7 Al-Aqsa Flood operations. The pattern of displacement is often uniform: settlers—some wearing military uniforms—infiltrate small pastoral communities to intimidate and threaten residents. While the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and local police were reportedly aware of these evacuations, they allowed the activity to continue unabated.

Critics have characterized these proposals as a form of ethnic cleansing. While such rhetoric from far-right leaders, including Smotrich, has previously focused largely on the Gaza Strip, the focus has increasingly shifted toward the West Bank.

Smotrich’s comments come only days after the cabinet approved a controversial measure allowing for the registration of vast tracts of West Bank territory as state land, effectively earmarking it for Israeli development. This followed a decision by the security cabinet a week prior to “significantly” alter land registration and property acquisition procedures in the territory—a move denounced by opponents as de facto annexation.

On Tuesday, a coalition of 85 nations—including close regional partners such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Cyprus, Greece, and Germany—joined a formal statement condemning Israel’s recent maneuvers.

The statement, organized by the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations, declared: “We strongly condemn Israel’s unilateral decisions and measures aimed at expanding its illegal presence in the West Bank. Such decisions are in direct violation of Israel’s obligations under international law and must be immediately rescinded. In this context, we emphasize our categorical rejection of any form of annexation.”

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has also called on Israel to reverse its land registration policies, which he described as both “illegal” and “destabilizing.”