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Israeli Official Describes Secret Government Bid to Cement Control of West Bank

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Written by Natan Odenheimer, Ronen Bergman and Patrick Kingsley | The New York Times Natan Odenheimer, Ronen Bergman and Patrick Kingsley | The New York Times
Published: 21 June 2024 21 June 2024

An influential member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition told settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that the government is engaged in a stealthy effort to irreversibly change the way the territory is governed, to cement Israel’s control over it without being accused of formally annexing it.

In a taped recording of the speech, the official, Bezalel Smotrich, can be heard suggesting at a private event earlier this month that the goal was to prevent the West Bank from becoming part of a Palestinian state.

“I’m telling you, it’s mega-dramatic,” Mr. Smotrich told the settlers. “Such changes change a system’s DNA.”

Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/21/world/middleeast/israel-west-bank-netanyahu-bezalel-smotrich.html

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