Israeli Minister Calls for West Bank War

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on September 27, 2026, said on Ynet's '120 and One' podcast: "I certainly have solutions. I think we need to go to war in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). To do there what we did in Gaza." He called to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, which he labeled a terror authority, and added: "We need to tell Israeli forces, just as you dismantled Hamas in Gaza, there won't be terror infrastructure in Judea and Samaria." Smotrich sought annexation "as far as the Yellow Line in Gaza" and "as far as the Litani River in Lebanon" so a war does not end on the same lines. He told the cabinet about warnings: "So what do you want? Tell us what to do. You are the army... I don't understand these meaningless warnings. It's a bit like covering yourselves." Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, home to 500,000 settlers and about three million Palestinians. A Sukkot closure runs until October 3. OCHA logged more than 1,330 settler-related attacks from January to late July. Palestinian officials report over 1,206 killed, more than 13,300 injured and nearly 26,000 arrested since October 2023. An Israeli court rejected a petition against the E1 plan for more than 1,200 units. Contested: none found.