Smotrich’s denial came after an audio recording obtained by the NYT revealed his plan to strengthen Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and abort any attempt to be part of the Palestinian state.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that The New York Times “did not reveal any secrets” when it disclosed an audio recording describing a plan for the annexation of the Occupied West Bank.
“Everything I do is clear,” Smotrich wrote on his X account on Sunday, adding that “the Israeli public, in its overwhelming majority, is well aware that establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank would endanger our existence.”
He went on to stress, “Everything is on the table, with authority I will continue to develop the settlement in the heart of Israel”.
“I will fight with all my might for the State of Israel and the citizens of Israel,” the far-right minister concluded.
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The Audio Recording
Smotrich’s denial came after an audio recording obtained by the NYT revealed his plan to strengthen Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and abort any attempt to be part of the Palestinian state.
The audio recording shows that Smotrich developed a clear plan to gradually wrest control of the West Bank from the hands of the Israeli occupation army and hand it over to civilian employees working under his command in the Ministry of Defense, and some powers have already been transferred to civilians.
In the recording, Smotrich elaborated on his plan to transfer authority from the military to civilians under his control in the Defense Ministry. This shift was part of the broad powers granted to him in his Religious Zionism party’s coalition agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.
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“We created a separate civilian system,” Smotrich stated, noting that to avoid international scrutiny, the government has kept the Defense Ministry involved in the process, according to the Times.
“It will be easier to swallow in the international and legal context,” he added. “So that they won’t say that we are doing annexation here.”
Smotrich also reportedly mentioned that Netanyahu is “with us full on,” a claim which the premier’s office appeared to counter.
“The final status of these territories will be determined by the parties in direct negotiations,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement responding to his coalition partner’s remarks. “This policy has not changed.”
(PC, AJA)
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