Israel’s Smotrich unveils plan to annex majority of West Bank

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has unveiled a plan to annex 82 percent of the occupied West Bank, effectively eliminating the prospect of a future Palestinian state. The proposal, prepared by the Settlement Administration, would leave only six isolated enclaves for major Palestinian cities while formally annexing all other areas. Smotrich stated the principle is to control "maximum land with minimum [Palestinian] population" and warned the Palestinian Authority would be "destroyed" if it resisted. The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the plan as a direct threat to the realization of a Palestinian state.