Israel minister demands West Bank annexation if UN court rules against it
Al Jazeera
PM Netanyahu told to order West Bank annexation if the International Court of Justice rules against Israeli occupation.
Hardline Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the prime minister to annex the occupied West Bank if the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rules Israeli settlements are illegal this week.
Smotrich told reporters, “no one will move the people of Israel from their land”, the Times of Israel quoted him as saying on Monday.
The UN’s top court is expected to deliver a non-binding ruling on the legal ramifications of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories on Friday.
“I hereby call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – if the International Court of Justice in The Hague does decide that the settlement enterprise is illegal – respond to them with a historic decision of applying sovereignty to the territories of the homeland,” said Smotrich.
The far-right minister also promised to “thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state through massive construction, regulating settlements, building roads and other measures in the field” – all moves illegal under international law.
