Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for launching a war in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, demanding that operations mirror what was done in Gaza and proposing the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority amid a comprehensive weeklong regional closure.
Smotrich Calls for West Bank Military Campaign
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Israeli forces to go to war in the occupied West Bank and replicate the military tactics used in the Gaza Strip. Speaking during an interview on Ynet’s political podcast “120 and One” published on Sunday, the Religious Zionist Party leader argued that Israel must treat the territory through the lens of active combat, using a biblical term for the region.
I certainly have solutions. I think we need to go to war in Judea and Samaria, to do there what we did in Gaza, to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, which is a terror authority.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli Finance Minister
Smotrich was responding to a question on how Israel should combat increasing security tensions in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli violence against Palestinians has been steadily growing since the eruption of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, though attacks have intensified significantly this year. Smotrich told Ynet News that Israel needs to go to war in Judea and Samaria and told Israeli forces, Just as you dismantled Hamas in Gaza, there won’t be terror infrastructure in Judea and Samaria.
Smotrich appeared on the Hebrew-language political podcast to discuss Ofer Winter, a former senior military officer and new entrant to right-wing politics, as well as the drastic steps Smotrich believes Israel should take in the West Bank.
Smotrich dismissed warnings from senior Israeli military and security officials who have warned that the West Bank is on the verge of an explosion, citing settler violence among other factors. When commanders came to the cabinet and issued warnings, Smotrich said he pressed them in the security cabinet for solutions: When they came to the cabinet and said this, I said, 'So what do you want? Tell us what to do. You are the army,'
adding, I don't understand these meaningless warnings. It's a bit like covering yourselves.
Demands to Dismantle the Palestinian Authority and Expand Borders
The far-right minister reiterated his objective to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited control and holds limited civil and security powers in parts of the West Bank. Smotrich asserted that military leadership should receive a clear directive, and also called on the Israeli forces to annex southern Lebanon and the areas of Gaza still under the Zionist regime forces’ occupation. The far-right Israeli official has previously called for the illegal annexation of more than 80 percent of the West Bank.
Smotrich takes pride in a term in which he says he transformed the reality in the West Bank and stabilized Israel’s economy despite a costly, prolonged war. However, polls suggest the public has been less impressed by those achievements, with his party hovering around the electoral threshold until it joined forces with Moshe Feiglin. Meanwhile, his partner and rival, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has cemented his position as a leading figure among party leaders to the right of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud. With about a month remaining until the election, polls point to a political configuration in which neither bloc is able to assemble a coalition of more than 60 seats in the 120-member Knesset, though Smotrich said he would not be interested in a government bringing the two camps together.
Comprehensive Military Closures and Checkpoint Restrictions
Smotrich’s comments come as Israeli authorities announce a week-long comprehensive military closure across the occupied West Bank, citing the Jewish holiday Sukkot. The inflammatory remarks coincided with tighter Israeli restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank, including checkpoint closures and roadblocks that isolate communities and hinder access to work, homes, and essential services.
Since Israel began its war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the Israeli army and occupiers have stepped up attacks in the West Bank. According to Palestinian figures, Israeli forces and settlers have intensified attacks, killing over 1,206 Palestinians, injuring more than 13,300, and arresting nearly 26,000. The reported attacks include demolishing homes and other structures, burning mosques, bulldozing farmland, preventing farmers from accessing their land, displacing Palestinians, and expanding illegal settlements.
Diplomatic Condemnation and Regional Warnings
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in Ramallah warned on September 27, 2026, of the danger of remarks by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling for a war on the occupied West Bank, replicating what took place in the Gaza Strip, and dismantling the Palestinian Authority. In a statement, the ministry said the remarks expose Israeli plans aimed at undermining the prospects for an independent Palestinian state and imposing a new reality by force in the occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements.
The ministry said calls for a full-fledged war on the West Bank and the destruction of Palestinian cities and refugee camps come within the context of Israeli government policies involving killing, displacement, settlement expansion, and land confiscation, as well as attempts to impose annexation by force. It stressed that the Palestinian Authority and institutions of the State of Palestine constitute part of the Palestinian national project and an achievement of the Palestinian people on the path toward realizing an independent and sovereign state.
