LONDON: Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Monday condemned statements by Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich instructing government staff to work on applying Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
Smotrich wrote on X on Monday that “2025: the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” two biblical names Israeli government officials use to refer to Palestinian territories in the West Bank.
Earlier, he told a meeting of the Religious Zionism political faction, which is part of the coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that he had instructed Israeli authorities “to begin professional and comprehensive staff work” to apply sovereignty over the West Bank, Ynet reported.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Smotrich’s statements were a “flagrant violation of international law and the Palestinian right to an independent, sovereign state along the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Palestinians have long sought the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as the territories for their future state, a demand recognized by Arab states and the majority of UN members.
Sufian Qudah, a spokesperson for the ministry, confirmed Amman’s “firm rejection of these provocative statements, emphasizing that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territories,” the Jordan News Agency reported.
He called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank and to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people.
Smotrich, who also has a supervisory role within Israel’s Defense Ministry, has been adamant about rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, supported the expansion of illegal settlements and called for annexing the Jordan Valley, an agriculturally rich region that borders Jordan.
On Monday, he said that Donald Trump’s election victory “brings with it an important opportunity for Israel,” a possible reference to the president-elect recognizing Israel’s push for sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that Smotrich’s comments signal that Israel intends to fulfil its plans to control the West Bank in 2025, in disregard of international law.
“These statements are an Israeli confirmation to the entire world that the occupation’s new plan will focus on the West Bank in order to implement the racist annexation and expansion and to consolidate the occupation,” Abu Rudeineh said.
“We also hold the American administration responsible for its continued support for the [Israeli] occupation to continue its crimes,” he added.
The spokesman said that 2025 will be the year in which an independent Palestinian state will be established with East Jerusalem as its capital.
