By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa has condemned a statement by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that 2025 will be the “year of annexation” of the occupied West Bank.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation in a statement said, Smotrich had ordered preparations for the annexation of settlements in the Israeli-occupied territory.
The department emphasized the need for a decisive response by the international community against Israel’s settlement expansion in the Palestinian territories and its provocative policies.
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to reintroduce the annexation of the West Bank to the agenda of his government when US President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
In 2020, Netanyahu planned to annex illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley based on the Middle East peace plan announced by Trump in January of that year.
Territories that Netanyahu planned to annex at that time constituted around 30% of the West Bank. His plan, however, was not realized under international pressure and lack of US approval.
International law views both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as “occupied territories” and considers all Israeli settlement-building activity there illegal.
On 23 December 2016, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories and called for an end to settlement construction
In addition, South Africa further calls for concrete actions aimed at reviving a political process, leading to the establishment of a viable Palestinian State, in compliance with all relevant UN resolutions, International Law and international agreements.
Excluding east Jerusalem, the West Bank is home to three million Palestinians alongside around 500,000 Israelis living in settlement that are illegal under international law.