Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared on Friday that Israel would build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Katz’s comments came a day after the Israeli government approved 22 additional West Bank settlements, which are illegal under international law. The approval marked the biggest single settlement expansion in more than 30 years, according to the Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now.
Katz said the settlement expansion was a response to French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders who have been considering recognizing a Palestinian state.
“This is a decisive response to the terrorist organizations that are trying to harm and weaken our hold on this land – and it is also a clear message to Macron and his associates: they will recognize a Palestinian state on paper – but we will build the Jewish Israeli state here on the ground,” Katz said.
“The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper,” he added.
In a joint statement on the settlement expansion, Katz and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich explicitly stated that the purpose was to prevent a Palestinian state from being established.
“All the new communities are being established with a long-term strategic vision, aimed at reinforcing Israeli control of the territory, preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, and securing development reserves for settlement in the coming decades,” the ministers said.
