Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"We continue to work to strengthen our grip in all areas of our country," he added in a post on X.
"We will not allow the Arabs to separate Gush Etzion from Jerusalem, and we will not allow them to establish a Palestinian state that would endanger our existence here," he claimed.
On December 6, Smotrich announced the seizure of 24,000 dunams of West Bank land and its annexation as "state land," with the aim of expanding a number of colonies, in a move described as the largest in decades.
On July 19, the International Court of Justice stressed that the Palestinians have the right to self-determination, and that the colonies located on the occupied territories must be evacuated.
During a session in the Dutch city of the Hague to give an advisory opinion on the repercussions of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, the court ruled that the occupied Palestinian territories constitute a "single territorial unit" that will be protected and respected.
He added that Israeli policies and practices amount to the annexation of large parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, and that she is "not convinced" that the extension of Israeli law to include the West Bank and East Jerusalem "has any justification."
In a related context, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said that Tel Aviv intends to control "security" in Gaza and retain the right to operate there after the war, as is the case in the West Bank.
He stated in a post on X, "My position on Gaza is clear, Israel will control security in Gaza with full freedom of action, as is the case in the West Bank."
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