Likud ministers and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apply sovereignty and Israeli law to the West Bank by the end of the summer session of the Knesset in a Wednesday petition seen by The Jerusalem Post.
“After Israel’s historic achievements under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against the evil axis of Iran and its sympathizers, the task must be completed, the existential threat removed from within, and another massacre in the heart of the country must be prevented,” the petition states.
The petition comes ahead of Netanyahu’s trip to Washington and highlights the key moment in Israel’s hands, including the “strategic partnership and the backing of US President Donald Trump.”
“The October 7 massacre proved that the doctrine of settlement blocs and the establishment of a Palestinian state in the remaining territory is an existential danger to Israel. It’s time for sovereignty,” the petition said.
Petition signatories
In addition to Ohana, the petition was signed by Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen, Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar, Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat, Agriculture and Raw Food Security Minister Avi Dichter, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, Tourism Minister, Construction and Housing Minister Haim Katz, Innovation, Science, and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel, Diaspora Affairs and Combatting Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli, Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman, Women's Advancement Minister, Social Equality Minister May Golan, and Minister in the Justice Ministry, Regional Cooperation Minister, and Ministerial Liaison to the Knesset David Amsalem.
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was the only Likud minister who did not sign the petition. He has been in Washington since Monday for talks at the White House on Iran and Gaza.
In an interview in early June, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that the US no longer wholeheartedly endorses an independent state for Palestinians, saying he "does not think" the issue remains a US policy. Trump has not expressed an official position.
Egypt responds to Likud letter
The Egyptian government released condemnation to the statement, expressing its “categorical rejection of these statements, which violate international law and aim to entrench the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, and to undermine the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state.”
“The Arab Republic of Egypt emphasizes its rejection of the blatant Israeli violations in the West Bank, including military incursions, arrests, and the expansion of illegal settlement construction, which coincides with the crimes taking place in the Gaza Strip that aim to undermine all elements of life for the struggling Palestinian people,” the statement said.
Egypt called on the international community to “intervene immediately to put an end to these flagrant violations being committed against the Palestinian people on their own land."