Israel’s Smotrich calls for full-scale West Bank war mirroring Gaza tactics

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told Ynet News in a Sunday interview that Israel should “go to war” in the occupied West Bank and repeat what it “did in Gaza,” and he also urged annexing southern Lebanon and Gaza areas under Israeli control. The comments come about a month before a general election amid rising settler violence. Human rights experts and analysts warn the remarks should not be dismissed as election rhetoric; Smotrich is sanctioned by several Western countries along with cabinet colleague Itamar Ben-Gvir.