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”.