Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday threatened to annex the occupied West Bank if the international community recognizes the state of Palestine next month, in violation of international law, and drawing strong condemnation from Arab countries.
Jordan, Qatar and Egypt denounced Israel’s approval of a new settlement project designed to fragment the occupied territory, calling it a flagrant violation of international law and a direct assault on the Palestinian people’s right to an independent state, warning it would further inflame tensions and derail any prospects for peace.
"You have no chance, there will be no Palestinian state," Smotrich said during a press conference addressed to several countries that plan to recognize the state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
"You will not decide from overseas what the future of the Jewish people looks like," the radical minister, who has been pushing for the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, said.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law.
