Far-right Israeli minister calls for expanding military operations in occupied West Bank

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called Tuesday for expanding military operations in the occupied West Bank.

"In Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and other areas, it is necessary to move from defense to offense and to carry out large-scale operations…until their complete destruction," Smotrich said on his X account.

Smotrich held a meeting on Tuesday with leaders of illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank following the death of three Israelis in a shooting attack in the northern West Bank.

Following the attack, the extremist minister called for destroying the West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus as the case in Jabalia in northern Gaza, which was reduced to rubble amid a deadly Israeli offensive in the area.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a situation assessment during which he approved a series of military actions in the West Bank, his office said, without giving details.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank due to Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 45,900 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 835 Palestinians have also been killed and nearly 6,700 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian figures.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.