Israeli minister calls on Tel Aviv to seize ‘historic opportunity’ to annex West Bank

According to The Times of Israel, Levin said, “Beyond the current issues, [it] is a time of historic opportunity that we must not miss.”

“The time for sovereignty has come, the time to apply sovereignty. My position on this matter is firm, it is clear,” he claimed.

The occupied West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967, but was never formally annexed – a prospect that far-right ministers have long pushed for. Yet, since October 7, 2023, Israeli authorities have been redrawing the map of the Palestinian territory.

Since then, the Israeli army has intensified its daily raids and mass arrests, especially in the north, where Israeli bulldozers have razed entire residential areas, forcibly expelling at least 40,000 people.

In June, Israel unveiled a new plan for taking more land from the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Led by far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, the scheme includes the legalization of settler outposts and the forced displacement of the native communities.