Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for the annexation of swathes of the occupied West Bank after a series of governments signalled their intention to recognise a Palestinian state, AFP reports.

“The time has come to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich said, using the name Israel applies to the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.

He said the move would “take the idea of dividing our tiny land and establishing a terrorist state at its centre off the agenda once and for all”.

Opinion

Editorial

Momentary relief
Updated 10 May, 2026

Momentary relief

THE IMF’s approval of the latest review of Pakistan’s ongoing Fund programme comes at a moment of growing global...
India’s global shame
10 May, 2026

India’s global shame

INDIA’s rabid streak is at an all-time high. Prejudice is now an organised movement to erase religious freedoms ...
Aurat March restrictions
Updated 10 May, 2026

Aurat March restrictions

The message could not have been clearer: women may gather, but only if they remain politically harmless.
Removing subsidies
Updated 09 May, 2026

Removing subsidies

The government no longer has the budgetary space to continue carrying hundreds of billions of rupees in untargeted subsidies while the power sector itself remains trapped in circular debt, inefficiencies, theft and under-recovery.
Scarred at home
09 May, 2026

Scarred at home

WHEN homes turn violent towards children, the psychosocial damage is lifelong. In Pakistan, parental violence is...
Zionist zealotry
09 May, 2026

Zionist zealotry

BOTH the Israeli military and far-right citizens of the Zionist state have been involved in appalling hate crimes...