Israel’s far-right gathered at the National Union convention on Tuesday evening to hear MK Bezalel Smotrich’s “One Hope” plan of action for the future of Israel and the occupied Palestinian West Bank. The plan, which calls for the annexation of the West Bank in its entirety and the emigration of Palestinians from the land, was adopted in a vote by the National Union. 

Tacitly expressing his support for the initiative in a pre-recorded video, Prime Minister Netanyahu appealed to the pro-settlement crowd, repeating the false colonial narrative of historical Palestine as a languishing, “desolate,” and “deserted” region, a land without a people for a people without a land. He continued his speech, affirming the aspirations of the pro-settlement, Messianic crowd in attendance: “We are building the land and settling it on the mountain, in the valley, in the Galilee, in the Negev, and also in Judea and Samaria [the Palestinian West Bank] because this is our land. The homeland of the Jewish people. The only land promised to our forefathers. We were given the right to settle here and we must guard that with caution.”

The Prime Minister’s extremely worrisome suggestion—that is, that Israel extends beyond its internationally recognized 1967 borders—pales in comparison to the plans of MK Smotrich. In the essay detailing his program, MK Smotrich writes, “to the west of the Jordan, there is room for only one national definition: the Jewish one.” Consequently, he calls on the state of Israel to economically coerce Arab Palestinians, including those with Israeli citizenship, to emigrate elsewhere. Those who remain, he continues, must either surrender their national aspirations—as well as their rights to fully participate in democratic process—or face the consequences.

Smotrich, who in the past faced criticism (and acclaim) for his support for the segregation of Arab and Jewish women in maternity wards, clearly prefers a homogenous Jewish state, elsewhere stating, “I can’t hide that I prefer the option of them [Arabs] emigrating.” In a former interview he said, “Those who want to leave… I will help them. When they have no hope and no vision [for a Palestinian nation], they will go. As they did in 1948.”

The National Union’s plan intends to meet those who refuse to surrender their right to national self-determination with a heavy hand. “I will either shoot him or I will jail him or I will expel him,” Smotrich said of those who resist.

Although a controversial figure in Israel itself, even MK Smotrich has experienced wide political success. As a deputy speaker of the Knesset and as a co-founder of the pro-settlement NGO Regavim, he has experienced several major legislative successes, including the passage of the Kaminitz Law earlier this year.  

In general, Israeli state officials have come to show increasingly brazen disrespect for democracy, international law, and human rights in the name of a manifest destiny ultra-nationalism. The Minister of Justice herself, for example, recently declared, “Zionism should not continue and will not continue to bow down to the system of individual rights interpreted in a universal way.” In other words, at least for Minster Shaked and most of her friends in the government coalition, support for the Jewish nature of the state takes precedence over any individual’s human rights or rights as a citizen. 

Minister Shaked’s position most recently took the form of the Jewish Nation-State bill, which explicitly denies Palestinian Arab citizens in Israel their right to national self-determination and allows segregation in building and planning on the basis of ethnicity. Although it has not been finalized yet, the bill may even so much as require the Israeli High Court to prioritize the Jewish character of the state over its democratic character in cases of ambiguity. 

In the past, the international community could dismiss the ideas of the likes of MK Smotrich as “fringe.” However, the Prime Minister’s statements and the widespread support for MK Smotrich’s program suggest otherwise. The National Union’s adoption of his plan clearly demonstrates that Israelis of democratic conscience and the international community can no longer afford to ignore this frightening trend in Israeli politics. 

The National Union’s vote to support this initiative should therefore serve as a warning for the international community. 

The Mossawa Center therefore calls on the international community to take active steps to pressure Israel to move towards ending its illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and to respect international legal norms, especially those relating to democracy and human rights. The international community cannot rely on the hope that Donald Trump’s administration will miraculously give rise to peace in the region. Instead, it must resume an active role in the pursuit of peace and justice in the region.