The Knesset has summoned representatives of the defense establishment, the Justice Ministry and the Settlements and National Missions Ministry to discuss the practical implications of applying sovereignty to Judea and Samaria.
Lawmaker Zvi Sukkot of the Religious Zionism Party will lead the hearing in the Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria Affairs of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
“The time has come to decide the future of the State of Israel. This is an opportunity that must not be missed. Implementing sovereignty will, God willingly, determine the future of Judea and Samaria and the future of the entire State of Israel,” Sukkot said in a statement cited by Arutz Sheva.
The professed purpose of the hearing is to advance sovereignty over Judea and Samaria “immediately,” according to the report.
On July 2, ministers from the ruling Likud Party unanimously formulated a letter in which they called on the government to apply Israeli law on Judea and Samaria in the coming weeks.
“Now is the time for the government to approve a decision on the application of sovereignty, and this must be done before the end of the Knesset’s Summer Session [on July 27],” they wrote, Arutz Sheva reported.
“Following the historic achievements of the State of Israel under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in confronting the axis of evil led by Iran and its proxies, the task must now be completed by removing the existential threat from within and preventing another massacre in the heart of the country,” the letter added.
The initiative was pushed forward by Yesha Council, an umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
In June, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich directed his office to prepare practical plans for Israeli sovereignty over the area.
Smotrich told the Defense Ministry’s Settlement Administration to “formulate an operational plan for applying sovereignty, and we will not stop until the entire area receives its full legal status and becomes an inseparable part of the State of Israel,” he said on July 5.
“We are changing the face of the settlement enterprise not just as a slogan, but through real action,” he said.
Moreover, the Knesset passed a nonbinding motion on May 28, declaring its support for extending sovereignty to Judea and Samaria.
The motion, which was introduced by coalition and opposition members of the Land of Israel Caucus, passed without opposition. Knesset records showed that 15 Knesset members were present when the motion was put to a vote.
“With the understanding that these parts of the Land are inseparable from the homeland of the Jewish people, in light of the broad Israeli consensus against a Palestinian state, and to prevent the recurrence of the Oct. 7 disaster—applying Israeli law is a moral and necessary step for security and the realization of the Zionist vision,” the motion read.
