Smotrich poses next to 'Death to Arabs' graffiti in illegal West Bank settlement
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posed near graffiti that called for "Death to Arabs" on Thursday, as he visited an illegal West Bank settlement that was recently recognised by the Israeli government.
Smotrich's visit to Sa-Nur, which sits south of the Palestinian city of Jenin, came after the Israeli government quietly recognised the settlement as one of four that would be placed under the control of the Shomron Regional Council.
Sa-Nur, Kadim, Ganim and Homesh were evacuated unilaterally by Israel in 2005, without coordination with the Palestinian Authority, during Israel's "disengagement" from Gaza and parts of the occupied West Bank.
Images from Thursday's visit showed Smotrich standing near a wall bearing the slogans: "The people of Israel return to Sa-Nur!" and "Death to Arabs."
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Smotrich had told settlers who accompanied him on the visit that Israelis will "return to the places we evacuated in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip".
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A version of the photo later shared by the Shomron Regional Council had the racist graffiti cropped out.
In response to the initial photograph, Gilad Kariv, a parliamentarian from the Democrats Party, called the image not just a "Hasbara [public diplomacy] disaster, it is a moral disaster."
"This photo may have been taken on top of the hill at Sa-Nur, but it reflects the abyss into which the Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben Gvir government is dragging us - an abyss of annexation, terrible violence and international isolation," Kariv said.
Smotrich has vowed to restore evacuated settlements like Sa-Nur as part of his broader push to expand settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, despite international opposition and concerns over escalating tensions.
In May, Israel's government approved the construction of 22 new settlements in the West Bank, including the legalisation of nine unauthorised outposts.
The Sa-Nur settlement has symbolic and geographical importance due to its location near the ancient Palestinian village of Sanur, which includes the ancient fortress of Al-Jarrar and a vast agricultural meadow known as Maraj Sanur.
Jamal Juma', a coordinator at the Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, told Middle East Eye that Israel's government was hell-bent on reoccupying areas they withdrew from in 2005.
"They've already reoccupied Homesh, so that's why this criminal settler minister was there [in Sa-Nur] to declare the return of settlers," Juma' said.
"With all that's going on in the West Bank - colonisation, ethnic cleansing and the siege on Palestinians - [Israel is] fast taking steps towards finishing their plan to ghettoise Palestinians and annex the West Bank," he added.
Far right in ascendancy
Israel's far right is ascendant in the wake of the war on Gaza, and has several ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet.
Last month, Smotrich vowed that "Gaza will be entirely destroyed" and its Palestinian population will "leave in great numbers to third countries".
He also declared that Israel would "apply sovereignty" in the occupied West Bank before the next Israeli general elections in October 2026.
A majority of Israelis back the expulsion of all Palestinians from territory controlled by Israel, according to a recent poll by Pennsylvania State University.
The survey, conducted in March and published by Haaretz newspaper, found that 56 percent of Israelis support the forced expulsion of Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Last month, Israel's parliament approved a non-binding motion that called for the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
The symbolic gesture does not affect the legal status of the West Bank, but it will help build momentum towards a possible move on the territory, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
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