Annexation Now: Likud Ministers Demand PM Annex West Bank by End of Month
Thursday, 3 July 2025 | All Likud government ministers on Wednesday evening called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, the biblical name for the West Bank, before the Knesset’s summer session ends and it adjourns near the end of the month.
“This is the time to approve in government a decision to apply sovereignty,” the ministers said ahead of Netanyahu’s trip to Washington next week, where he will meet US President Donald Trump. “Following the State of Israel’s historic achievements in the face of Iran’s axis of evil and its sympathizers, the task must be completed and the existential threat from within must be eliminated, to prevent another massacre in the heart of the country.”
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have publicly condemned this demand.
“The strategic partnership, backing and support of the US and President Donald Trump have made it a propitious time to move forward with it now, and ensure Israel’s security for generations. The October 7 massacre proved that the doctrine of settlement blocs and the establishment of a Palestinian state in the remaining territory is an existential danger to Israel. It’s time for sovereignty,” wrote the Likud ministers, in an initiative formulated by the Yesha Council.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomed the letter from the Likud ministers to the prime minister. “The true answer to the enemies of the State of Israel is sovereignty. I congratulate the Likud ministers and commit to the prime minister: on the day he gives the order—the Settlement Administration under my leadership—is ready in practice to implement the application of sovereignty immediately. Mr. Prime Minister—Am Yisrael is ready!” Smotrich said.
Even before the letter was released, Justice Minister Yariv Levin called for the application of sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, a statement that drew condemnation from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The Saudi Foreign Ministry issued an official statement: “Saudi Arabia condemns the remarks of the Israeli official calling for imposing sovereignty over the West Bank [Judea and Samaria], in violation of legitimate international resolutions.”
In its statement on Levin and the other Likud ministers, Egypt said it condemns “the statements from Israeli officials who called for annexation of the West Bank and the latest declaration by Justice Minister Yariv Levin. Egypt rejects the Israeli violations in the West Bank, the military incursions, arrests, and the expansion of illegal settlements.” The statement urged the international community to intervene.
(This article was originally published by Ynetnews on July 2, 2025. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)
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