Justice Minister Yariv Levin says the current times offer a “historic opportunity” to seize the occupied West Bank, Israeli media reported.

According to The Times of Israel, Levin said, “Beyond the current issues, [it] is a time of historic opportunity that we must not miss.

“The time for sovereignty has come, the time to apply sovereignty. My position on this matter is firm, it is clear.”

The occupied West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967, but was never formally annexed – a prospect that far-right ministers have long pushed for. Yet, after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and the ensuing war on Gaza, Israeli authorities have been redrawing the map of the Palestinian territory.

Since then, the Israeli army has intensified its daily raids and mass arrests, especially in the north, where Israeli bulldozers have razed entire residential areas, forcibly expelling at least 40,000 people.

In 2024, 24,700 dunams (6,100 acres or 2,470 hectares) were classified as “state land” by Israeli authorities, surpassing the 23,000 dunams annexed between 2000 and 2023. Additionally, 68 illegal settlement outposts were recognized by Israel and provided with infrastructure, deepening Israeli control.