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.”

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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.


National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, center, waves the Israeli flag as he tours the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City during Jerusalem Day celebrations on May 14, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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 Kan.

Speaking at the same Jerusalem Day gathering as Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said he seeks to settle Lebanon and that “we also have a plan to encourage emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

The two far-right lawmakers spoke at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva to celebrate Jerusalem Day, which marks  Israel’s conquering of the Old City and East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War of 1967.

The day is observed mainly by religious Zionist Jews in a march to the Western Wall that regularly spawns racist chants and violence against Palestinians.

Earlier this week, the government backed away from legislation advanced by a member of Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party to repeal the Oslo Accords. An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Netanyahu had instructed ministers not to back the legislation amid concern that it required coordination with Washington.

IDF says troops fatally shot stone thrower; PA identifies him as 15-year-old

The IDF said overnight that troops shot and killed a masked Palestinian who was hurling stones at Israeli motorists on the Route 60 highway outside the village of Lubban ash-Sharqiya, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, Wafa, had reported earlier Thursday evening that settlers raided the village and broke down several doors there.

According to the IDF, troops of the 636th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit later identified three Palestinian stone-throwers outside the village, then “opened fire at the terrorists and eliminated a masked terrorist.

Another suspect was also hit, and troops were in pursuit of him and of the third suspect, the IDF said.

The Palestinian Authority’s General Authority for Civilian Affairs on Friday morning identified the slain suspect as Fahd Zidan Owais, 15, and said Israeli forces detained his body.

Also, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Friday that it arrested the suspected driver of a stolen vehicle that struck and killed soldier Sgt. Netanel Ayala, 20, in a hit-and-run earlier this month.

The suspect, a resident of Luban e-Sharkiya in the northern West Bank, is a man in his 30s.

He was arrested before dawn by soldiers from the Duvdevan commando unit and police officers from the Binyamin region, the army said in a statement.

He had fled on foot from the scene of the deadly crash, which took place at around 1:30 a.m. on May 3, on Route 60, near the village.

Ayala, who had been on a motorcycle at the time, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Separately, the Wafa outlet reported Friday that settlers graffitied nationalist messages and set fire overnight to a mosque and two vehicles in the village of Jibiya, near Ramallah in the central West Bank. No injuries were reported.

Footage published by Palestinian outlets showed that the Hebrew words sprayed included the message “for the liberation of Jerusalem,” apparently in reference to Jerusalem Day.

Settler attacks have been taking place on a daily basis, with little enforcement by Israeli authorities.

Critics accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the violent attacks by settler extremists, which have become increasingly deadly in recent years. The military recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025, compared to 682 incidents in 2024.

The IDF has also faced criticism for often standing by while attacks unfold — with troops sometimes actively participating — or failing to prosecute those responsible.


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