Smotrich Declares Oslo Accords 'Null and Void' and Predicts War in West Bank

In a recent Middle East Eye video report, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is seen delivering some of his most extreme statements to date regarding the occupied West Bank. Speaking at a conference this week, the minister, who also heads the Religious Zionism party, did not merely reiterate his long-held expansionist ideology; he formally declared the Oslo Accords "null and void," claimed sovereignty over areas that have been under Palestinian administrative control for nearly three decades, and predicted an inevitable war to "disarm all the Arabs" in the territory. His remarks, which openly acknowledge a rift with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, signal a dangerous escalation in official Israeli rhetoric, even as violence and displacement continue unabated on the ground in the West Bank.

Oslo "Null and Void" — Areas A and B Claimed

Smotrich used his platform at the conference to dismantle the foundational framework of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. He declared the Oslo Accords "null and void," a direct assault on the agreements signed in the 1990s that established the Palestinian Authority and divided the occupied West Bank into administrative zones. In a chilling assertion of territorial ambition, he claimed that Areas A and B, which are currently under varying degrees of Palestinian administrative control, "are also ours."

This statement represents a radical departure from the status quo, even for a minister known for his hardline views. Under the 1995 Oslo II Accord, Area A was placed under full Palestinian administrative and security control, while Area B was designated for Palestinian administration with Israeli security oversight. Area C, comprising about 60 percent of the West Bank, remains under full Israeli military and administrative control. By claiming Areas A and B, Smotrich is effectively denying the legitimacy of any Palestinian presence or governance in the heart of the occupied territory, including major urban centers like Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin.

His framing is not merely rhetorical. By labeling the Oslo framework null and void, he is advocating for the legal and political erasure of the mechanisms that have, however imperfectly, provided a semblance of Palestinian self-governance. For Palestinians living in these areas, Smotrich's words translate into a clear threat: the Israeli government, in which he holds significant power, no longer recognizes even the limited autonomy granted by international agreements. The declaration is a prelude to a policy of total annexation and control, stripping away the last vestiges of the two-state paradigm.

A Direct Dispute With Netanyahu

In a rare moment of candor, Smotrich acknowledged that his position places him at odds with his own coalition leader. "That is a dispute with the prime minister," he stated, confirming that his views on the evacuation of illegal outposts in Areas A and B differ sharply from those of Benjamin Netanyahu. He revealed that Netanyahu, to the best of his knowledge, had ordered the evacuation of sites established in these areas—a decision Smotrich openly opposes.

"Netanyahu, to the best of my knowledge, gave an instruction to evacuate places established in Areas A and B. I don't like that instruction," Smotrich said. This admission is significant, as it exposes a fracture within the highest echelons of the Israeli government regarding the management of the occupied territories. While Netanyahu may be attempting to maintain a veneer of legal compliance or strategic restraint, Smotrich is publicly undermining him, pushing for a more aggressive and unilateral approach.

This dispute is not merely a matter of policy disagreement; it reflects a power struggle over the very direction of the occupation. Smotrich, who holds the finance portfolio and has sweeping authority over settlement affairs in the West Bank, is using his position to accelerate the entrenchment of Israeli presence on the ground, regardless of the prime minister's stated instructions. For Palestinians, this internal Israeli conflict is ominous, as it suggests that the most extreme elements of the government are gaining the upper hand, emboldened to act without fear of consequence or central government restraint.

Calls to Dismantle the Palestinian Authority

Smotrich did not limit his attacks to the Oslo Accords; he also called for the outright dismantling of the Palestinian Authority (PA). He described the PA as a "terrorist entity," accusing it of encouraging and financing attacks against Israelis and inciting against the state. This characterization is a deliberate inversion of reality for many observers, who view the PA as a security coordinator with Israel, often criticized by Palestinians for its security cooperation in the occupied West Bank.

By delegitimizing the PA, Smotrich is seeking to remove the last remaining address for Palestinian political representation. The PA, created under the Oslo process in the 1990s as an interim governing body, has been the primary partner for international aid and the framework for security coordination. Smotrich's call to dismantle it is a call for chaos, or more accurately, for complete Israeli control. If the PA were to collapse, the Israeli military would be forced to assume direct responsibility for the daily lives of millions of Palestinians, a scenario that would likely lead to increased violence and international condemnation.

His rhetoric also serves a domestic political purpose, appealing to his base by framing the conflict in stark terms of good versus evil. However, the practical implications are devastating. The PA, despite its many flaws and unpopularity among Palestinians, provides salaries for civil servants, healthcare, and education. Smotrich's vision would replace this with direct military rule, a regression to the pre-Oslo era that would be catastrophic for the Palestinian population and would further destabilize the region.

A Predicted War to "Disarm All the Arabs"

Perhaps the most alarming of Smotrich's remarks was his prediction of a major military confrontation. "There will be no avoiding a war in Judea and Samaria in the near future, in which we will disarm all the Arabs in Judea and Samaria," he declared, using the biblical name Israeli officials employ for the occupied West Bank. He claimed that Palestinians possess significantly more weapons than Israeli authorities publicly acknowledge, arguing that Israel should judge its adversaries by their capabilities rather than their intentions.

This is not a passive observation; it is a call to arms. By predicting an inevitable war, Smotrich is setting the stage for a preemptive military campaign that would devastate Palestinian communities. His assertion that Palestinians are heavily armed serves to justify a massive military operation that would involve house-to-house searches, mass arrests, and the confiscation of property. The use of the term "disarm" is a euphemism for the subjugation of an entire population.

Smotrich's language is designed to dehumanize and delegitimize Palestinian resistance, painting all Palestinians as combatants. This framing ignores the root causes of violence, including the ongoing occupation, settlement expansion, and daily humiliation. For Palestinians in the West Bank, who have already endured decades of military rule and periodic incursions, his words are a harbinger of more suffering. The threat of a "war" is not abstract; it is a promise of further destruction, displacement, and loss of life.

The Ground Beneath the Rhetoric — Beatings and Demolitions

While Smotrich speaks of war and annexation in conference halls, the reality of the occupation continues to unfold in the streets and villages of the West Bank. In the same news cycle as his remarks, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported that Israeli soldiers assaulted and beat five Palestinians in two separate incidents. Two individuals were hospitalized following an incident in Anabta, in the Tulkarem governorate, while three others were injured in Burqa, in the Nablus governorate. These are not isolated events but part of a daily pattern of violence and intimidation that Palestinians face at checkpoints and during military raids.

In a separate incident, Israeli forces fired tear gas toward Palestinians at the Ein Sinya military checkpoint, north of Ramallah, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. The use of tear gas at checkpoints, often directed at civilians going about their daily lives, has become a standard tactic, causing respiratory issues and panic, particularly among women and children.

Simultaneously, the systematic erasure of Palestinian presence in the Jordan Valley continues. An Israeli court rejected appeals against the demolition of residential and agricultural structures belonging to eight Palestinians in the northern Jordan Valley. Mutaz Bisharat, an official monitoring settlement activity in Tubas, described the situation starkly, saying the occupation was "racing against time to carry out the largest possible demolition operations in the Jordan Valley as part of a systematic policy to uproot citizens from their lands." This policy, which Smotrich oversees through his authority over settlement affairs, is designed to clear the land for Israeli expansion, forcing Palestinians off their ancestral properties through legal maneuvers and military force.

Analysis: What Smotrich's Escalation Means for Palestinians

Smotrich's latest remarks are not merely the ravings of an extremist; they are a policy blueprint from a man with the power to implement it. As Finance Minister and a key figure in the settlement enterprise, he controls budgets and bureaucratic mechanisms that directly affect the lives of Palestinians. His declaration that the Oslo Accords are "null and void" and his call to dismantle the PA signal an end to any pretense of a political process. For Palestinians, this means the final nail in the coffin of the two-state solution, replaced by a reality of creeping annexation and apartheid.

The dispute with Netanyahu is a tactical distraction. While it may appear that there are moderating forces within the Israeli government, the reality on the ground—the beatings, the tear gas, the demolitions, and the expansion of settlements—shows that Smotrich's agenda is being implemented, regardless of the prime minister's objections. The Israeli measures in Area C, which Smotrich highlighted, including the expansion of communities and farms, road construction, land declarations, and thousands of new housing units, are transforming the West Bank into a landscape of Israeli-only enclaves, fragmenting Palestinian communities and making any contiguous state impossible.

For the Palestinian people, Smotrich's vision is a clear and present danger. His prediction of a "war" to "disarm all the Arabs" is a threat of ethnic cleansing and military subjugation. The international community's response has been largely rhetorical, with condemnations that have done little to deter Israeli actions. As Smotrich and his allies continue to consolidate power, the prospect of a massive military operation in the West Bank grows more real. The daily violence, the land theft, and the political erasure are not separate issues; they are the components of a single, coordinated strategy to deny Palestinian rights and existence. The world is watching, but for the Palestinians living under this regime, the time for watching is running out.

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: Middle East Eye, Anadolu Agency, Palestine Chronicle.

By Fatima Al-Rashid, Staff Writer