Israeli minister pushes ‘migration’ of West BankAFP, JERUSALEMIsrael’s far-right Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of “encouraging the migration” of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported yesterday. Photo: Reuters“There is no other long-term solution,” added Smotrich, who lives in a settlement in the West Bank. The measures include a process to register land in the West Bank as “state property” and facilitate direct purchases of land by Jewish Israelis. “We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel’s unlawful presence in the West Bank,” they said in a statement. Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.

Source: Taipei Times February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC