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Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed that the occupied West Bank is an “inseparable part” of Israel and its security belt while praising demolitions of Palestinian structures and pledging to prevent further Palestinian construction.
Smotrich made the remarks in a post on social media platform X about systematic demolitions carried out to expel Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and “Judaize” the territory.
“We continue to enforce the law and prevent illegal construction and takeover by Arabs in Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich said, using the Israeli name for the occupied West Bank.
“For too many years, they treated the area as their own. That’s over. Judea and Samaria are an inseparable part of the State of Israel and constitute its security belt.”
Smotrich said Israeli authorities would continue preventing Palestinians from building homes on their land.
“We will not allow the left to return to power and take us back to the days of Oslo and the horrific waves of terror that exploded here with buses and restaurants across Israel,” he said.
Smotrich is known for supporting the establishment of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land as part of efforts to annex the occupied West Bank.
Israel frequently demolishes Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, claiming they were built without permits.
Israeli forces most recently demolished nine Palestinian homes and two agricultural facilities Monday in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Jenin, citing a lack of permits.
According to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, which is affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization, Israel demolished 740 Palestinian-owned structures in 341 operations during the first six months of 2026.
The demolitions affected 923 Palestinians, including 546 children.
During the same period, Israeli authorities issued demolition orders against another 254 structures.
According to U.N. figures, more than 1,700 Palestinians were forcibly displaced by demolitions carried out in 2025.
Smotrich’s statement came amid continued Israeli escalation across the occupied West Bank over the past several days.
Israeli settlers, backed by the army, attacked the Palestinian town of Tell near Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank.
Following the violence, Israeli forces imposed a siege on Nablus and surrounding towns, conducted mass arrest raids and announced preparations for a large-scale military operation across the occupied territory.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 1,182 Palestinians in the West Bank, injured thousands and detained about 24,000, according to official Palestinian figures.
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