CNN
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Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel SmotrichHe ordered preparations for the annexation of settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Smotrich, who is in charge of settlements, said on Monday that he had instructed his department to “prepare the necessary infrastructure for the implementation of sovereignty.”

It is unclear whether his long-standing desire to implement full Israeli law in West Bank settlements has any chance of being implemented any time soon. His announcement was likely due in large part to setting the political terrain in Israel’s fractious domestic politics.

Smotrich told the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, that President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the US election “brings a significant opportunity for the State of Israel.”

Smotrich added that the “only way” to eliminate the “threat” of a Palestinian state is to “enforce Israeli sovereignty over all settlements in Judea and Samaria,” the Biblical term by which Israelis refer to the West Bank.

Israel invaded West Bank Since seizing the region from Jordan in 1967. It has since expanded Jewish settlements in the region, which are considered illegal under international law, despite signing a series of peace agreements with the Palestinians in the 1990s.

Approximately half a million Israelis live in settlements on the West Bank. Smotrich, himself a settler, has long called for Israeli law to be applied to settlements and has previously opposed it. creation of an independent Palestinian state

The minister said Israel intends to “lead the government’s decision” that will allow it to “work with President Trump’s new administration and the international community to exercise sovereignty and achieve American and international recognition.”

Trump in his first term few steps In favor of Israel. recognized in 2017 Making Jerusalem the capital of Israel upends decades of US policy and international consensus. He also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan HeightsThe place was captured from Syria during the 1967 war and is considered occupied according to international law.

“I have instructed the Department of Defense and the Settlement Division at the Civil Administration to begin professional and comprehensive work to prepare the necessary infrastructure for the implementation of sovereignty,” Smotrich said in a statement on Monday. he said.

“President Trump has taken dramatic steps during his first term, including certifying the legality and legality of settlements in Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich added. “As well as this, there were the Abraham Accords: peace for peace’s sake.” These agreements, a series of agreements facilitated by Trump’s first administration, enabled Israel to normalize relations with four Arab countries.

“We were on the verge of establishing dominion over the settlements in Judea and Samaria, and now is the time to do it.”

CNN asked the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office to react to Smotrich’s statement.

This is a developing story and will be updated.