WhatsappToday’s press conference, headed by Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich revealed the most concrete plans for Israel to apply sovereignty to wide swaths of Judea and Samaria. With community leaders from Judea and Samaria next to him Smotrich announced the Defense Ministry’s plan to apply Israeli sovereignty to 82% of Judea and Samaria.
At the center of the plan is one guiding principle, which Smotrich defined as the “super-principle”: “maximum territory and minimum population.” According to him, the goal is to avoid applying sovereignty to a hostile Arab population. “We have no desire to apply our sovereignty to a population that is interested in our destruction,” he explained. “Enemies must be fought and not allowed to live a comfortable life. In this way, we will also maintain a clear Jewish majority in a Jewish and democratic State of Israel.”
Smotrich emphasized: “Our goal is to completely eliminate the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state.”
The 82% Smotrich is talking about is most of Areas B and C, where Israel already has full security control. The 18% that is left is most of Area A, where the Palestinian Authority has full security control. The following cities will remain autonomous self self-managed enclaves: Jenin, Shchem, Tulkarm, Ramallah, Jericho, and Hebron. Interestingly, the plan involves applying sovereignty to both Bethlehem and Qalqiliya.
Abraham Accords In Danger
Given the seriousness of Smotrich’s plan and its backing within the Trump administration, the Arab world is beginning to get nervous. Even the UAE, which usually remains reserved when it comes to the “palestinians” has warned Israel not to move forward with the above plan.
“Annexation would be a red line for my government, and that means there can be no lasting peace. It would foreclose the idea of regional integration and be the death knell of the two-state solution,” Emirati special envoy Lana Nusseibeh said in an interview with the Times of Israel.
This threat by the UAE is clear. Yet, the question is, does it matter? At the end of the day, if regional integration comes at the expense of Israel’s security and the forfeiting of Israel Biblical Heartland then regional integration is merely a trojan horse being used by the Arab world to slowly weaken Israel.
What’s Really Going On?
While Smotrich’s plan is making a lot of noise in the media, the cabinet has yet to decide what Israel will actually declare sovereignty over. There is a group that is willing to settle for only the Jordan River Valley. This may be the consensus in the country, but not in Netanyahu’s coalition. More than likely, the Prime Minister will thread the needle and apply sovereignty to area C and some of area B, which will total between 65% and 75% of Judea and Samaria. This way, he can claim to support Israel’s biblical heartland while also claiming to stave off a far bigger application of sovereignty in hopes of keeping the Abraham Accords alive.
