The meeting comes after ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party unanimously called for a plan to absorb the territory to be in place by the end of the month
July 15, 2025 14:38
The Knesset has summoned representatives of the defense establishment, the Justice Ministry and the Settlements and National Missions Ministry to discuss the practical implications of “applying sovereignty” to the West Bank, effectively amounting to absorbing the territory into the State of Israel.
Lawmaker Zvi Sukkot of the far-right Religious Zionism Party will lead the hearing in the Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria Affairs of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
“The time has come to decide the future of the State of Israel. This is an opportunity that must not be missed. Implementing sovereignty will, God willingly, determine the future of Judea and Samaria [the name used by the government to refer to the West Bank] and the future of the entire State of Israel,” Sukkot said in a statement.
The professed purpose of the hearing is to advance “sovereignty” over the territory “immediately,” according to a report from Arutz Sheva.
On July 2, ministers from the ruling Likud Party unanimously signed a letter in which they called on the government to apply Israeli law to the region before the summer recess later this month.
“Now is the time for the government to approve a decision on the application of sovereignty, and this must be done before the end of the Knesset’s Summer Session [on July 27],” they wrote.
“Following the historic achievements of the State of Israel under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in confronting the axis of evil led by Iran and its proxies, the task must now be completed by removing the existential threat from within and preventing another massacre in the heart of the country,” the letter added.
The initiative was pushed forward by Yesha Council, an umbrella organisation representing Israeli settlements across the West Bank.
And, in June, Finance Minister, and Religious Zionism leader, Bezalel Smotrich directed his office to prepare practical plans to implement the de facto annexation.
Smotrich announced he had told the Defense Ministry’s Settlement Administration to “formulate an operational plan for applying sovereignty”, adding: “We will not stop until the entire area receives its full legal status and becomes an inseparable part of the State of Israel.
“We are changing the face of the settlement enterprise not just as a slogan, but through real action."
The committee comes after the Knesset passed a nonbinding motion on May 28, declaring its support for the principal of “extending sovereignty”.
The motion, which was introduced by coalition and opposition members of the Land of Israel Caucus, passed without opposition. Knesset records showed that only 15 Knesset members were present when the motion was put to a vote.
“With the understanding that these parts of the Land are inseparable from the homeland of the Jewish people, in light of the broad Israeli consensus against a Palestinian state, and to prevent the recurrence of the October 7 disaster – applying Israeli law is a moral and necessary step for security and the realization of the Zionist vision,” the motion read.
However, any attempt at annexation is likely to spark outcry both at home and abroad, with the majority of the international community regarding the West Bank as occupied Palestinian territory.
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