According to the Israeli peace movement Peace Now, this is the largest single annexation since the Oslo Accords concluded between Israelis and Palestinians in 1993.
The annexation announcement coincides with the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Israel. He is there, among other things, to insist on a quick ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. He also said he would urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow more humanitarian aid into the area, which has been subjected to intense bombing.
Prime Minister Rutte also indicated yesterday that Israel must allow more aid into Gaza:
President Joe Biden's administration opposes the colonization of Palestinian territories and says it aims for peace based on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. This should be in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967. The international community, including the United Nations and the Palestinian Authority, have been striving to achieve this goal for decades to no avail.
Smotrich is known as a far-right politician. He himself lives as a settler in the occupied territories. He is also a fierce opponent of the two-state solution and his party aims to annex as much Palestinian territory as possible.
