Israel’s senior far-right minister has vowed to encourage “migration” from the Palestinian territories, despite growing criticism of recent moves to tighten Israeli control over the occupied West Bank.
Since last week, Israel has approved a series of initiatives backed by extremist ministers to consolidate control over the West Bank, including areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, which have been in place since the 1990s.
“We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state,” extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said late on Tuesday (February 18, 2026) at an event organized by his Religious Zionism party.
“We will finally, formally and practically, abrogate the cursed Oslo Accords and begin the path toward sovereignty, while encouraging migration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria,” he says, using the biblical term for the West Bank.
“There is no other long-term solution,” added Smotrich, who lives in a settlement in the West Bank.
Mr. Smotrich was speaking at a vineyard near Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, where he is promoting what he calls “Colonization 2030,” a campaign ahead of national elections later this year.
Along with Finance portfolio, Mr. Smotrich serves in Israel’s security cabinet, which makes key decisions regarding the West Bank, making him a central figure in efforts to expand settlements there.
Among the recently approved measures are initiating the process of registering land in the West Bank as “state property” and allowing Jewish Israelis to purchase land directly.
Until now, land acquisitions for settlers were usually done through intermediary agencies. The new measures overturned a decades-old law barring Jews from directly buying land in the West Bank.
“This would allow Jews to buy land in Judea and Samaria, just as they did in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem,” Mr. Smotrich said last week.
World outrage
Steps have also been taken to increase Israeli control over parts of the West Bank currently controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
According to the Oslo Accords, the West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and C under Palestinian, mixed and Israeli rule respectively.
The West Bank would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state, but many on Israel’s religious right see it as land of Israel.
The Oslo Accords were signed with the aim of paving the way for an independent Palestinian state.
Israeli NGOs have also raised alarm over the settlement plan signed by the government to mark the expansion of Jerusalem’s borders into the occupied West Bank since 1967.
The planned development, announced by Israel’s Ministry of Construction and Housing, is officially the westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin or Adam settlement, northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank.
The new measures have sparked widespread international outrage.
On Tuesday (February 17), UN missions from 85 countries condemned what critics say is a de facto annexation of Palestinian territory.
“We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and actions aimed at expanding Israel’s illegal presence in the West Bank,” they said in a statement.
“Such decisions are contrary to Israel’s obligations under international law and must be withdrawn immediately.
“We emphasize our strong opposition to any kind of affiliation in this matter.”
US President Donald Trump has previously expressed opposition to annexing the West Bank, but has stopped short of directly criticizing the latest Israeli actions.
“As the president has made clear, he does not support Israel’s annexation of the West Bank,” a Trump administration official said earlier this month.
“A stable West Bank keeps Israel safe and is consistent with this administration’s goal of achieving peace,” the official said.
Excluding Israel-annexed East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.
About three million Palestinians live in the territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
The current Israeli government, considered one of the most moderate in the country’s history, has fast-tracked settlement expansion.
It approved a record 54 settlements in 2025, according to the Israeli NGO Peace Now.
