Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich Flats West Bank Aneksasi Map

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION; Abdul-Aziz Munj

JAKARTA - Israel's far-right finance minister said a map was being prepared to annex territory in the occupied West Bank, an area Palestinians are fighting for for a country.

This was done by Smotrich although it is not clear whether he has the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a press conference in Jerusalem, Bezalel Smotrich stood in front of a map showing the possibility of annexing most of the West Bank, except for six major Palestinian cities, including Ramallah and Nablus.

Smotrich wants the "maximum area and the (Palestinian) minimum population" to be under Israeli sovereignty, urging Netanyahu to accept his plans being prepared by a department under Smotrich's oversight at the Ministry of Defense.

"The time has come to apply Israel's sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, to erase once and for all time the idea of dividing our small land and establishing a terror state at its center," he said.

Smotrich menggunakan nama-nam alkitabiah yang banyak digunakan di Israel dan nama administrasi yang dikerjakan negara tersebut untuk membarangkan wilayah tersebut.

"Who can defend a country with such a small strategic depth? And this is why the purpose of sovereignty is to eliminate, once and forever, the Palestinian state from the agenda. And this is done when implementing (density) throughout the region, in addition to Arab population centers. I am not interested in letting them enjoy what the state of Israel has to offer," he explained.

Smotrich has long called for annexation of the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and is one of the territories Palestinians have fought for for an independent country in the future.

Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday regarding the prime minister's position on the matter.

However, the prospect of any concrete steps from the Netanyahu government, which is likely to require a long, unclear legislative process.