Justice minister calls for government to actively advance West Bank annexation

Justice Minister Yariv Levin says the time has come to annex the West Bank, during a meeting with settler leader Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council.

“I think that this period, beyond the current issues, is a time of historic opportunity that we must not miss,” in reference to annexing the disputed territory.

“The time for sovereignty has come, the time to apply sovereignty. My position on this matter is firm, it is clear,” Levin tells Dagan, according to a statement from Dagan’s office and a video released by Levin.

Israel captured the territory in 1967 during the Six Day War, but has never formally annexed it. Israel began moving toward annexation in 2020 under a peace plan released by US President Donald Trump, but dropped the idea in exchange for normalization with the United Arab Emirates.

Levin says the issue must be “at the top of the priority list.”

“I think it is both realistic and possible. And it is essential, first of all, to realize our right to the land. Certainly to contribute to security, and to do justice to the settlers and the settlement [movement] who deserve to be equal citizens in every respect who live in settlements that are part of the fully sovereign State of Israel,” he says of the approximately half million Israelis living in the disputed territory.

Dagan thanks Levin for his “brave partnership,” calling the territory “not just the heart of the land but also the safety belt for the State of Israel.”