In a clear reference to the annexation of the West Bank, far-right lawmakers support the “application of sovereignty” to all lands “owned by Israel.”
Israeli lawmakers said Sunday that the occupation of Palestinian territory is permanent, at least “for now,” in response to Friday’s UN vote on Israeli occupation.
A far-right lawmaker from the ruling coalition, Zvika Fogel, said she supports “the application of sovereignty to all lands legally owned by Israel”, in clear reference to Israel’s plans to annex the occupied West Bank.
On Friday, the United Nations voted on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an advisory opinion on Israel’s 55-year occupation of Palestinian territory.
Judgments by the International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, typically take one to two years to complete. They are binding, but not enforceable by courts. Israeli politicians from both the ruling coalition and the opposition have criticized the UN for passing the resolution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took office this week, called the decision “despicable” on Saturday.
In a video message, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “The Jews are not occupying their land, nor are they occupying the Eternal Capital of Jerusalem. No UN resolution can distort this historical truth. ‘ said.
Former opposition minister and MP Avigdor Lieberman shared similar sentiments, calling the decision “disparaging”.
“A despicable and widely condemned decision was made at the United Nations tonight, further evidence of the State of Israel’s inability to trust international organizations in a moment of truth. This decision epitomizes hypocrisy and injustice,” Lieberman tweeted.
The day before the UN vote, Netanyahu announced what he called the basic guidelines for the new government.
“Jews have exclusive and unquestionable rights over all parts of the Land of Israel, including the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem,” he said.
He promised the new government would “encourage and develop” settlements in the West Bank, Galilee and the Negev.
In violation of international law, he has nearly 700,000 settlers in over 250 settlements and outposts in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Occupation
In an interview with Radio 103FM on Sunday, when asked if the West Bank occupation was permanent, Fogel said, “I cannot argue with the facts.”
he added: “Now the occupation is permanent, and now I want to continue exercising Israeli sovereignty as long as I can.”
“Exercising sovereignty” is a common euphemism used by Israeli politicians to refer to annexation.
“To continue exercising sovereignty over all land that legally belongs to Israel, to set the most secure borders on that land, and to stop bowing to all sorts of nations that never existed but suddenly appeared, is my mission. It’s our right.
Fogel is a far-right, ultra-nationalist Jew led by Itamar Ben Gvir, an openly racist Jewish supremacist and later supporter of Rabbi Meir Kahane’s extreme anti-Palestinian ideology. A member of the power party.
Fogel told Britain’s Channel 4 News in December that he wanted to end all forms of proportionality in his dealings with the Palestinians, who he claimed were “too merciful” to them.
