Israeli radicals are mainstream on one issue only.

Annexation is a reality, not a possibility for the future. There is just one state for Israelis and Palestinians.

Internationally, far-right members of Israel’s administration, including Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, bear a large portion of the blame for the country’s current policies. Both of them are viewed by the US as bold outliers who belong outside the mainstream of politics.

Hundreds of Israelis went on a rampage across the Palestinian hamlet of Huwara on February 26, 2023. According to an inquiry by the audio-analysis group Earshot and the human rights organization B’Tselem, one Palestinian was killed—likely by a settler—and over a hundred were injured. Mr. Smotrich then declared: “Huwara must be eliminated. That, in my opinion, should be done by the State of Israel and not, God forbid, by private citizens. His statements were called “repugnant” by a State Department official. (After facing harsh criticism, Mr. Smotrich issued an apology.)

However, Mr. Smotrich and Mr. Ben-extreme Gvir’s radicalism could not be more representative of Israel’s clear settlement policy, which is to gain permanent sovereignty over all land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

It has been clear for decades that Israel intends to have complete political and geographic control over the West Bank. The fundamental tenets of the present government were stated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2022: “The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel.” He declared, “The government will encourage and develop the settlement of all parts of the Land of Israel,” notably mentioning the West Bank.

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