Israel’s Smotrich calls for ‘war’ in West Bank: Rhetoric or real threat?

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for a full-scale war in the occupied West Bank, urging the military to use the tactics employed in Gaza, which has been devastated by the ongoing genocide. Smotrich, known for his inflammatory, racist and dehumanising language against Palestinians, also called for the annexation of southern Lebanon and Gaza’s territories under Israeli control. The minister told Ynet News in an interview published on Sunday that Israel should “go to war” in the occupied territory and repeat what it “did in Gaza”.