“If Saudi Arabia tells us ‘normalization in exchange for a Palestinian state,’ friends — no thank you. Keep riding camels in the desert in Saudi Arabia, and we will continue to develop with the economy, society and state and the great things that we know how to do,” Smotrich said, speaking at a conference called “Halacha in the Technological Era” organized by the Zomet Institute and the Makor Rishon newspaper.
His comment came following Wednesday’s vote in the Knesset to pass a bill in its preliminary reading that would apply Israeli sovereignty to West Bank settlements, despite opposition from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party.
Many in Netanyahu’s coalition have been loudly calling to advance annexation as a response to the recognition of a Palestinian state by Western powers last month. In early September, Smotrich publicly called for the annexation of 82 percent of the West Bank, even as regional countries warned that such a move would spell the end of Israel’s integration into the Middle East. (Ed note: LOL. Ya gotta love that guy!) (Read More)
