Israel minister's call for war, E1 settlement plan: A look at the West Bank crisis

Israel's finance minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday called for a war against Palestinians in the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967. The far-right leader also pushed for annexation of areas of south Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, which are also under the control of the Israeli military.

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation at a market in Nablus, West Bank, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo)"I think we need to go to war in Judea and Samaria (biblical names for the West Bank), to dismantle the Palestinian Authority that supports terror," news agency AFP quoted Smotrich as saying. He was speaking on a podcast for Israeli news site Ynet.

The Israeli minister said he wanted Israel to annex "as far as the Yellow Line in Gaza and as far as the Litani River in Lebanon". The line demarcates the areas under the control of Hamas and Israel.

Giving his reason behind the call for war and annexation, Smotrich said, "If a war ends along the same lines where it began, what will deter the enemy from going to war again." Smotrich's far-right party advocates the annexation of the entire West Bank.

The occupied West Bank area already houses 500,000 Israelis who live in illegal settlements in the Palestinian territory. These settlers are living in the region along with some three million Palestinians.

The West Bank has witnessed heightened violence over the past 3 years, since a war broke out in the Gaza Strip following Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Israel has also been pushing for its E1 settlement project, which involves the construction of more than 1,200 housing units in an area of the occupied West Bank between Jerusalem and the existing settlement of Maale Adumim.

Approved last year after decades of being frozen, the project has faced international opposition, particularly because of its potential impact on the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state. Israel’s housing ministry opened construction bids for the project in July.

The Israeli attorney general’s office has now postponed the bidding deadline by a month, saying the move would reduce concerns that the tender could be used for election propaganda ahead of the October 27 vote.

The E1 settlement project has drawn criticism from Palestinian rights groups, European governments and other international actors, who argue that its construction could undermine the territorial continuity needed for a viable Palestinian state.

Six European countries, including the UK and France, urged Israel in August to halt the project. Palestinian rights groups also challenged the plan in an Israeli court, warning that it could result in the eviction of hundreds of Palestinians.

The court rejected their petition earlier this month, ruling that adequate legal safeguards were in place. The project’s opponents maintain that expanding settlements in E1 would further isolate east Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.

Akanksha Verma is an Associate Editor at the Hindustan Times in New Delhi. With an experience of over a decade, she has led newsrooms operations and worked on digital content strategies. She is adept at covering breaking news situations and holds expertise in doing long-form explainers on national, political and geopolitical issues. Akanksha has previously worked with The Times Of India, Indian Express Online, News18.com, India Ahead and The Daily Jagran. She has written on key national and global events, including the Lok Sabha Elections, Assembly Elections, US Elections, US-Iran war, Operation Sindoor, Israel-Palestine conflict, Afghanistan conflict, Ram Temple verdict, Ladakh standoff, Abrogation of Article 370 and Demonetisation. She holds a BA (Hons) in English from Ramjas College, University of Delhi, and a Postgraduate Diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Dhenkanal, Odisha. She is proficient in both English and Hindi and has earned a beginner-level certification in Korean. Beyond her newsroom responsibilities, Akanksha enjoys reading books that explore gender and social issues. She also turns to poetry as a creative outlet, writing verses whenever inspiration strikes.Read More