https://www.scmp.com/rss/522179/feed The latest news and top stories on Bezalel Smotrich, a prominent Israeli politician. Known for leading the Religious Zionism party, he assumed his current role in 2022, also gaining significant oversight of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He has a background in law and previously served as Minister of Transportation. His work involves economic policy, budget management and advancing settlement expansion. Key accomplishments include co-founding Regavim, an organisation focused on land use,... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Israel’s parliament approved the country’s 2026 budget early on Monday, providing for a significant increase in military spending as the country remains engaged in wars on multiple fronts. Lawmakers passed the budget with 62 votes in favour and 55 against. The vote averted an automatic government collapse and snap election that would have followed failure to pass the budget by March’s end, under Israeli law. The proposed total expenditure budget for 2026 amounts to around 850 billion Israeli... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348339/israel-adds-us10-billion-its-war-chest-defence-budget-increase?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348339/israel-adds-us10-billion-its-war-chest-defence-budget-increase?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 02:26:31 +0000 Agencies Agencies Four European countries have called on Israel to abandon a bill seeking to revive the death penalty for people convicted of acts of terrorism, a measure opponents say would target only Palestinians. In a joint statement on Sunday ahead of an anticipated final vote in the Knesset on Monday, foreign ministers from France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom expressed their “deep concern” about the bill. “The death penalty is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterring... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348328/european-countries-appeal-israel-abandon-plans-revive-death-penalty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3348328/european-countries-appeal-israel-abandon-plans-revive-death-penalty?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 22:26:50 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A top Israeli official said on Tuesday that measures adopted by the government that deepen Israeli control in the occupied West Bank amounted to implementing “de facto sovereignty”, using language that mirrors critics’ warnings about the intent behind the moves. The steps “actually establish a fact on the ground that there will not be a Palestinian state,” Energy Minister Eli Cohen told Israel’s Army Radio. Palestinians, Arab countries and human rights groups have called the moves announced... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3343094/israels-de-facto-sovereignty-over-west-bank-ends-future-palestinian-state-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3343094/israels-de-facto-sovereignty-over-west-bank-ends-future-palestinian-state-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:09:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Key allies reacted coolly on Monday to US President Donald Trump’s invite to pay US$1 billion for a permanent spot on his “Board of Peace” for resolving international conflicts, with analysts likening it to a pay-to-play version of the UN Security Council. The White House has asked various world leaders to sit on the board, chaired by Trump himself, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian premier Viktor Orban and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The board’s charter, seen by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340480/allies-tepid-trumps-board-peace-invited-leaders-wondering-how-it-will-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340480/allies-tepid-trumps-board-peace-invited-leaders-wondering-how-it-will-work?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 22:16:21 +0000 Reuters Reuters Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel remained opposed to a Palestinian state after protests by far-right coalition allies over a US-backed statement indicating support for a pathway to Palestinian independence. Netanyahu spoke two days after Israel’s key ally the United States and many Muslim-majority nations endorsed a draft UN resolution backing US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, saying the process offered a route to Palestinian statehood. The 15-member UN... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332999/netanyahu-government-threatened-over-us-statement-palestinian-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332999/netanyahu-government-threatened-over-us-statement-palestinian-state?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Nov 2025 14:24:38 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israeli settlers torched and defaced a mosque in a Palestinian village in the central West Bank overnight, scribbling hateful messages in a show of defiance a day after some Israeli leaders condemned a recent attack by settlers against Palestinians. One wall and at least three copies of the Koran and some of the carpeting at the mosque in the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya had been torched when an AP reporter visited Thursday. On one side of the mosque, settlers had left graffitied messages... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332693/israeli-settlers-spark-outrage-mosque-attack-west-bank-village?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3332693/israeli-settlers-spark-outrage-mosque-attack-west-bank-village?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Nov 2025 13:52:22 +0000 Reuters Reuters US Vice-President J.D. Vance said on Thursday President Donald Trump would oppose Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank and it would not happen, suggesting a move by Israeli lawmakers towards that end looked like a stupid “political stunt”. A bill applying Israeli law to the West Bank, a move tantamount to annexation of a territory that Palestinians seek for part of a future independent state, won preliminary approval from Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday. Asked by reporters about the vote,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3330118/vance-slams-israeli-vote-west-bank-annexation-insult-says-trump-will-oppose?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3330118/vance-slams-israeli-vote-west-bank-annexation-insult-says-trump-will-oppose?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Oct 2025 15:12:29 +0000 Reuters,Agence France-Presse Reuters,Agence France-Presse A bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, a move tantamount to annexation of land that Palestinians want for a state, won preliminary approval from Israel’s parliament on Wednesday. The vote was the first of four needed to pass the law, and it coincided with the visit of US Vice-President J.D. Vance to Israel, a month after President Donald Trump said that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank,” Trump told reporters at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3329977/trump-opposes-west-bank-annexation-israel-votes-applying-law-occupied-territory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3329977/trump-opposes-west-bank-annexation-israel-votes-applying-law-occupied-territory?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Oct 2025 13:58:26 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Palestinian Authority (PA) expects a significant role in post-war Gaza, even though President Donald Trump’s plan sidelines it for now, and is banking on Arab support to secure its position despite Israeli objections, Palestinian officials say. Gaza’s future governance has moved into focus with a ceasefire due to begin on Thursday, the first step in Trump’s bid to end two years of war. The next phase of the deal must tackle thorny issues, including demands that the Islamist militant group... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3328430/palestinian-authority-eyes-post-war-gaza-role-banking-arab-support-defy-trump-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3328430/palestinian-authority-eyes-post-war-gaza-role-banking-arab-support-defy-trump-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 16:00:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed an agreement on Thursday to cease fire and free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the war in Gaza. Israelis and Palestinians alike rejoiced after the deal was announced, the biggest step yet taken to end two years of war in which over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, and return the last hostages seized by Hamas in the attacks that unleashed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3328424/israel-and-hamas-sign-ceasefire-and-hostage-deal-sparking-hope-peace-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3328424/israel-and-hamas-sign-ceasefire-and-hostage-deal-sparking-hope-peace-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 14:13:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump gave Hamas an ultimatum of “three or four days” on Tuesday to respond to his plan for Gaza, as the militant group reviewed the proposal backed by Israel. The plan calls for a ceasefire, release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, disarmament of Hamas and gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself. World powers, including Arab and Muslim nations, welcomed the proposal, but Hamas had yet to issue its... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3327416/hamas-reviewing-trump-gaza-plan-netanyahu-insists-israeli-control-sparking-scepticism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3327416/hamas-reviewing-trump-gaza-plan-netanyahu-insists-israeli-control-sparking-scepticism?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Sep 2025 11:24:32 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, rejecting calls from some far-right politicians in Israel who want to extend sovereignty over the area and snuff out hopes for a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced some pressure from allies to annex the West Bank, prompting alarm among Arab leaders, some of whom met Trump on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. “I will not allow Israel... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326913/trump-says-he-will-not-allow-israel-annex-west-bank-after-saudi-flags-risks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326913/trump-says-he-will-not-allow-israel-annex-west-bank-after-saudi-flags-risks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2025 01:50:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to push ahead with a controversial settlement expansion plan that would cut across land that the Palestinians seek for a state. “There will never be a Palestinian state. This place is ours,” Netanyahu said during a visit to the Maale Adumim settlement in the West Bank where thousands of new housing units would be added. “We will safeguard our heritage, our land, and our security.” Last month, the E1 project, which would... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325255/israels-netanyahu-vows-there-will-never-be-palestinian-state-place-ours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325255/israels-netanyahu-vows-there-will-never-be-palestinian-state-place-ours?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Sep 2025 18:16:32 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Nearly two years after Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, the war in Gaza has entered a darker, deadlier phase. The territory now faces a reckoning its residents describe as annihilation. Israel’s latest military campaign in Gaza and its West Bank annexation plans have left observers warning that the age-old Palestinian presence across both could soon be erased. On Wednesday, Israel’s government unveiled plans to annex 82 per cent of the occupied West Bank. The escalation comes despite... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324541/israels-annexation-plans-fuel-fears-final-solution-palestinians?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324541/israels-annexation-plans-fuel-fears-final-solution-palestinians?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Sep 2025 08:00:24 +0000 Reuters Reuters The United Arab Emirates warned Israel on Wednesday that annexation in the occupied West Bank would constitute a “red line” for Abu Dhabi that would severely undermine the spirit of the Abraham Accords that normalised UAE-Israeli relations. The comments by the UAE, the most prominent of the three Arab states that signed the accords with Israel when US President Donald Trump was first in office, amounted to Abu Dhabi’s strongest criticism of Israel since the Gaza war erupted in 2023, when Hamas... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324215/uae-says-israeli-annexation-west-bank-red-line-abu-dhabi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324215/uae-says-israeli-annexation-west-bank-red-line-abu-dhabi?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2025 11:01:01 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Tens of thousands of reservists started to report for duty on Tuesday ahead of a new Israeli offensive in Gaza City, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to speed up, despite warnings from senior ranks. Israeli Army Radio said that some 40,000 would report for duty on Tuesday for the Gaza City offensive, as the military prepares logistically for their intake. Israel’s security cabinet, chaired by Netanyahu, approved a plan last month to expand the campaign in Gaza with the aim of taking... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324069/gaza-war-thousands-reservists-report-duty-israel-begins-new-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3324069/gaza-war-thousands-reservists-report-duty-israel-begins-new-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 10:29:57 +0000 Agencies Agencies Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered that Gaza City be captured more quickly than previously planned. The “timeline for conquering the last terrorist strongholds and defeating Hamas” should be shortened, Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday without giving details. Army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin announced that Israeli forces had already occupied the outskirts of Gaza City but it is still unclear when the full ground offensive will begin. Israeli Defence Minister... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322576/netanyahu-demands-gaza-city-taken-faster-planned?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322576/netanyahu-demands-gaza-city-taken-faster-planned?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 22:36:39 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Clutching pictures of hostages, waving yellow flags, banging on snare drums and shouting chants to bring captive Israelis home, tens of thousands took to Tel Aviv’s streets on Sunday to call for an end to the war in Gaza. “We’re here to make it very clear to the Israeli government that this is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages that are being held in the Hamas tunnels for almost 700 days,” Ofir Penso, a 50-year-old Arabic teacher, said. Demonstrations have been held regularly... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322159/tens-thousands-israelis-protest-tel-aviv-calling-end-gaza-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3322159/tens-thousands-israelis-protest-tel-aviv-calling-end-gaza-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Aug 2025 20:48:39 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israel’s far-right finance minister said on Thursday that a contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is going ahead – a project that Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a Palestinian state by effectively cutting the territory into two parts. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich boasted that the construction, which is expected to get final approval later this month, could thwart Palestinian statehood plans. His announcement came as many... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3321923/israel-moves-ahead-plan-bisect-west-bank-wrecking-palestinian-state-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3321923/israel-moves-ahead-plan-bisect-west-bank-wrecking-palestinian-state-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Aug 2025 01:38:38 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israel’s new offensive in Gaza City could take weeks to start, leaving the door open for a ceasefire, officials say, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would get under way “fairly quickly” and end the war with Hamas’ defeat. Two officials who were at a security cabinet meeting on Thursday to approve the plan told Reuters that the evacuation of civilians from affected areas may only be completed by the start of October, giving time for a deal to be pursued. The plan raised... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3321553/israels-gaza-city-offensive-may-be-weeks-away-leaving-time-possible-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3321553/israels-gaza-city-offensive-may-be-weeks-away-leaving-time-possible-ceasefire?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Aug 2025 07:11:33 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he expected to complete a new Gaza offensive “fairly quickly” as the UN Security Council heard new demands for an end to suffering in the Palestinian enclave. Netanyahu, speaking after his security cabinet on Friday approved a much-criticised plan to take control of Gaza City said he had no choice but to “complete the job” and defeat Hamas to free hostages seized from Israel. Gaza City, the enclave’s most populous centre, came under... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3321376/israels-far-right-presses-netanyahu-go-harder-hamas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3321376/israels-far-right-presses-netanyahu-go-harder-hamas?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Aug 2025 10:55:14 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Some Israeli far-right leaders held a public meeting on Tuesday to discuss redeveloping Gaza into a tourist-friendly “riviera”, as Palestinians face a worsening humanitarian crisis in the devastated territory. The meeting, titled “The Riviera in Gaza: From Vision to Reality”, was held in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, under the auspices of some of its most hardline members. It saw the participation of firebrand Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, as well as activist Daniella Weiss, a vocal... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3319207/israeli-far-right-leaders-debate-gaza-riviera-plans-drawing-criticism-palestinians?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3319207/israeli-far-right-leaders-debate-gaza-riviera-plans-drawing-criticism-palestinians?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jul 2025 21:37:28 +0000