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Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Israeli sovereignty in West Bank more ‘urgent’ than normalization, Likud MK says
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Likud MK Boaz Bismuth says establishing Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank is at least as important, and more urgent, than reaching normalization deals with neighboring countries.
Bismuth, an ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who recently became chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, makes the remarks on a tour of the northern West Bank as the guest of Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council.
The tour takes Bismuth to settlements, farms and security lookout points alongside Dagan and Yoni HaYisraeli, head of the local branch of Likud.
In a video distributed by Dagan’s office, Bismuth calls applying sovereignty to the West Bank, a step akin to annexation of the territory, “a decisive victory.”
The Knesset approved a non-binding motion in favor of annexing the West Bank in July. In recent years, in discussions about a potential normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the kingdom has stipulated that Israel must take concrete steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state, which annexation would preclude.
“Normalization is important, but applying sovereignty is no less important, even more urgent,” Bismuth says. “With God’s help, we will do this quickly, because this war needs to end with victory.”
“I feel much more at home in Samaria than anywhere else in the world, and I’m very proud to be here,” says the lawmaker, who resides in Tel Aviv, in the video.
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