Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called Thursday to abolish the distinction between Palestinian- and Israeli-controlled areas of the West Bank, arguing that  “the Land of Israel is ours in its entirety.”

The comments came amid fresh reports of settler violence against Palestinians, a near-daily occurrence in the West Bank, and as a Palestinian teen was shot dead by the IDF, which said he had been throwing stones at Israeli motorists.

Smotrich, who also serves as minister in the Defense Ministry with responsibility for West Bank settlements, spoke at a Jerusalem Day event at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva, a flagship institution of the Religious Zionist movement in Jerusalem. He shared a snippet of his remarks in a post on X on Friday

“It’s time to permanently erase the lines dividing Areas A, B and C,” Smotrich proclaimed at the event, referring to the division of civil and security control of the West Bank between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

“Only thus will we prevent the next massacre” in central Israel, Smotrich wrote in the caption. “We’ll keep on practically killing the idea of a Palestinian state and establishment of a terrorist capital in our heartland.”

Under the 1995 Oslo II Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, the West Bank is divided into Area A, under full Palestinian control, Area B, under Israeli security control and Palestinian civilian control, and Area C, under full Israeli control.

Smotrich said at the Jerusalem Day gathering that he has submitted a detailed plan to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annul that distinction, “with methodical and precise maps.” The minister called on Netanyahu to “convene the cabinet and ratify” the plan.

“The Land of Israel is ours in its entirety,” Smotrich said.

The Kan public broadcaster also quoted Smotrich touting the “revolution in honor of the Land of Israel” that the government has wrought in the West Bank by recognizing dozens of previously illegal settler outposts and building dozens of new settlements and 60,000 housing units.

“The nation of Israel is coming back home — for good this time,” Smotrich said, according to........

© The Times of Israel