Leak reveals Smotrich's annexation plan for Israel-occupied West Bank

In a covert speech to Zionist settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a key minister in hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's extremist cabinet, Bezalel Smotrich, has unveiled a stealth agenda to solidify Israeli grip on the Palestinian territory without being seen internationally as a formal annexation.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister, who is also a minister in the Defence Ministry, known for his Islamophobic stance and anti-Palestine hate, outlined a strategic shift from military to civilian rule under his command in the Israeli Defence Ministry, as per a report in The New York Times.

Smotrich's plan, disclosed at a private gathering, aims to blur the line between occupation and annexation, circumventing international scrutiny.

Underscoring that these clandestine maneuvers are backed by PM Netanyahu, he said that they directly undermine the official stance of potential negotiations concerning the status of the occupied West Bank.

"It will be easier to swallow in the international and legal context," Smotrich said in the June 9 meeting. "So that they won’t say that we are doing annexation here."

Smotrich, head of the extremist Religious Zionism party, said the goal is to prevent the occupied West Bank from becoming part of a Palestinian state, describing the changes as "mega-dramatic" and calling it alteration of a system's DNA.

"I'm telling you, it's mega-dramatic," he told the Zionist settlers. "Such changes change a system's DNA."

Complicating two-state solution

Despite Israel's Supreme Court defining the territory as occupied under military rule, Smotrich's policies suggest a deliberate integration into Israeli governance, complicating efforts towards a two-state solution espoused by ally US and international community.

"Fifteen years ago, I was one of those running on the hills, erecting tents," Smotrich told the settlers in his speech.

Smotrich's ascent within Netanyahu's coalition reflects a shift towards hardline policies. A former settler troublemaker, he has challenged legal norms and international consensus, advocating Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

Under his influence, policies have shifted towards civilian oversight of illegal settlements and increased defence spending to protect them. These actions have drawn criticism for escalating tensions and hindering peace efforts.

To deflect international scrutiny, he said the regime has allowed the Defence Ministry to remain involved in the process, so that it seems that the military is still at the heart of West Bank governance.

"My goal — and I think of everyone here — is to first and foremost prevent the establishment of a terror state in the very heart of the land of Israel," Smotrich emphasised.

Smotrich, according to the NYT report, also mentioned that hawkish PM Netanyahu was fully aware of the plan, asserting that Netanyahu is "with us full on."

"We created a separate civilian system," Smotrich said.

Settler violence at the heart of Gaza war

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Arab-Israel war and has since then illegally stationed about 500,000 Zionist settlers there.

Besides the blockaded Gaza, where Israel's genocidal war is under way, Palestine seeks the West Bank and East Jerusalem — territories occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967 — for a completely independent country, a position that sees wide international support.

Nearly three million Palestinians reside in the occupied West Bank, with a significant number engaged in farming. However, farmers and shepherds, often residing in small, tranquil communities, are frequent targets of Zionist settler attacks, supported by Israeli police presence, exploiting their vulnerability.

At the heart of current war in Gaza is also the settler violence in occupied West Bank.

Hamas resistance group says its October 7 blitz on Israel that surprised its arch-enemy was orchestrated in response to Israeli attacks on Al Aqsa Mosque, illegal settler violence in occupied West Bank and to put Palestine question "back on the table."

Israel has since then killed at least 37,431 Palestinians — mostly women, children and infants –– and wounded 85,653, with 10,000+ feared buried under the debris of bombed homes and more than 9,500 abducted by Tel Aviv.

Around 85 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million people have fled their homes. Severe hunger is widespread, and UN officials say parts of the territory are experiencing famine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice.