JERUSALEM: Israel’s defence minister vowed on Friday to build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the occupied West Bank, a day after Tel Aviv announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the Palestinian territory.

Israel Katz said the move was a “clear message” to French President Emmanuel Macron, whom Israel’s foreign ministry accused of carrying out a “crusade against the Jewish state”.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, seen as a major obstacle to lasting peace, are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and Thursday’s announcement drew sharp foreign criticism.

“This is a clear message to Macron and his associates: they will recognise a Palestinian state on paper — but we will build the Jewish Israeli state here on the ground,” Katz added.

“The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the state of Israel will flourish and prosper.”

During a visit to Singapore on Friday, Macron asserted that recognition of a Palestinian state, with some conditions, was “not only a moral duty, but a political necessity”. He also said that European countries should “harden the collective position” against Israel if it does not respond appropriately to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The French president later told a top defence forum in Singapore that abandoning war-torn Gaza to its own fate and giving Israel a “free pass” would kill the West’s credibility with the rest of the world.

Israel slammed Macron’s comments, accusing him of undertaking a “crusade against the Jewish state”.

“There is no humanitarian blockade. That is a blatant lie,” Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement on X, defending its efforts to allow in aid.

‘Wrong direction’

Defence Minister Katz was speaking during a visit to the Sa-Nur settlement outpost in occupied West Bank. Israel has occupied the territory since 1967.

Sa-Nur was evacuated in 2005 as part of Israel’s disengagement from Gaza, promoted by then-prime minister Ariel Sharon.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Friday it was dealing with three shrapnel injuries from bullets in the nearby Palestinian village of Sanur, including two girls aged between 10 and 12 with head wounds.

“They are being taken to the hospital,” it said in a statement.

An international conference meant to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is set to take place next month at the UN headquarters in New York. A diplomat in Paris close to preparations for the conference said it should pave the way for more countries to recognise a Palestinian state.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2025