Likud Ministers Press Netanyahu for Full West Bank Annexation

The ministers, joined by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, argue that the current geopolitical climate, defined by recent confrontations with Iran, presents a unique opportunity to formalize control over the territory. Their demand, framed as an existential necessity, seeks to dismantle the possibility of a future Palestinian state, which they characterize as an inherent danger to Israeli security. Justice Minister Yariv Levin echoed this stance, describing the current period as a "historic opportunity" that requires immediate action.

This push for formal annexation finds strong backing among far-right coalition partners, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has declared 2025 the year for applying Israeli law to the settlements. While previous annexation efforts were primarily led by figures outside the Likud party, the shift within the Prime Minister’s own cabinet signals a potential hardening of state policy. The U.S. State Department has remained non-committal, with spokesperson Tammy Bruce stating that the U.S. supports Israel's internal security decisions.

Since 1967, the settler population in the West Bank has grown from approximately 1,500 to 770,000. This expansion continues despite international legal frameworks, including the Fourth Geneva Convention and ICJ rulings, which classify the occupation and settlement activity as illegal. As the administration prepares for Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Washington, the move toward total annexation threatens to finalize the displacement of Palestinian presence in the region, a goal long championed by advocates of a "Greater Israel."