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Defense & Security · Middle East

Smotrich’s party could gain coalition leverage as he calls for annexations

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for annexing parts of Gaza, Lebanon and the occupied West Bank. His Religious Zionist Party holds seven Knesset seats, and 37 parties are competing for 120 seats ahead of Israel’s October 27 election.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 4 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 2 of 4 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 10 entries
This story was corrected on Oct 22, 2026 following an editorial review.
4 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Too few ratedL 2 · C 0 · R 0 · 2 unrated
File photo
Photo: Avi Ohayon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

What happened

Key facts

  • Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for annexing territory as far as the Yellow Line in Gaza and the Litani River in Lebanon.
  • Smotrich has also called for annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, which he calls Judea and Samaria.
  • Smotrich said on a podcast in September that Israel should wage war in Judea and Samaria, dismantle the Palestinian Authority and repeat actions taken in Gaza.
  • The Religious Zionist Party currently holds seven Knesset seats and is led by Smotrich.
  • Thirty-seven parties are competing for 120 Knesset seats; Israel’s proportional representation system can give smaller parties leverage in coalition negotiations.

The brief

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for annexing parts of Gaza, Lebanon and the occupied West Bank, while his Religious Zionist Party could have leverage in negotiations over Israel’s next governing coalition. The party holds seven Knesset seats as 37 parties compete for 120 seats in the October 27 election.

Smotrich’s stated territorial aims include extending Israeli control as far as the Yellow Line in Gaza and the Litani River in Lebanon. He has also called for annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, which he refers to as Judea and Samaria. These are Smotrich’s political proposals; the reporting does not describe them as enacted government policy.

In remarks on a podcast in September, Smotrich said Israel should wage war in Judea and Samaria, dismantle the Palestinian Authority and repeat actions taken in Gaza. He called the Palestinian Authority “a terrorist authority.” That label is his characterization, not an independent designation established in the reporting.

Smotrich has also advocated taking all of Gaza, describing the rationale as “Zionist and security reasons.” He said withholding food and water from Gaza’s population until hostages were returned could be “just and moral.” Those comments connect his annexation proposals to further military action and restrictions affecting Gaza’s residents; the account does not report that the proposed measures were implemented.

The coalition question gives the proposals an electoral dimension. Israel’s proportional representation system can allow smaller parties to gain negotiating influence, and the Religious Zionist Party’s seven seats put it among the parties that could matter in coalition talks. The election is scheduled for October 27, with 37 parties competing for the 120-seat Knesset.

RT’s report foregrounds the possibility that politicians advocating annexation and further military operations could influence the next government through coalition bargaining. Its account focuses on Smotrich’s positions and the party’s seat count; it does not provide a competing party’s response to those proposals.

The coverage also places the election story alongside different aspects of Smotrich’s calls: Diplomacy and Law frames its headline around whether annexation of Lebanon or Gaza is legally possible, while Palestine Chronicle’s headline says he called for annexing 60% of Gaza and Lebanon.

The latter figure appears in that headline, while RT’s text describes proposed boundaries in Gaza and Lebanon without giving the same percentage. The reported proposals, the party’s electoral position and the coalition negotiations are distinct: the seat count may give the party bargaining leverage, but it does not itself establish that annexation will be adopted.

Why it matters

  • Gaza’s population faces the concrete stakes of Smotrich’s stated proposals: he has advocated taking all of Gaza and described withholding food and water until hostages were returned as potentially “just and moral.”
  • Residents of the occupied West Bank are implicated in his call for annexation and his proposal for war in Judea and Samaria and dismantling the Palestinian Authority.
  • Residents of Lebanon are implicated in his call to extend Israeli control as far as the Litani River.
  • The Religious Zionist Party’s seven Knesset seats may give it negotiating leverage in coalition talks, while 37 parties compete for 120 seats.

What to watch next

  • Whether the Religious Zionist Party uses its seven Knesset seats to seek influence in coalition negotiations after the October 27 election.
  • Whether the 37 parties competing for the 120 Knesset seats produce a governing coalition in which Smotrich’s proposals feature.
  • Whether Smotrich or the Religious Zionist Party advances the proposed annexations of parts of Gaza, Lebanon or the occupied West Bank as coalition demands.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
4 source articles · 4 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 2 Left · 2 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Unknown 75% · Middle East 25%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
Left
Center
Right
2 outlets
0 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 2 unrated outlets are not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
4 unique outletsDominant coverage: Middle East
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in Unknown (3 of 4 geographically-identified sources).
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

4 framing differences · 3 uncorroborated claims · 3 information gaps
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 2 reports whose article text Updat3 read; 2 other outlets were checked by headline only.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • RT centers Smotrich’s annexation calls and the Religious Zionist Party’s possible coalition leverage; Diplomacy and Law frames its headline around the legality of annexing Lebanon or Gaza.
  • Palestine Chronicle’s headline specifies 60% of Gaza, whereas RT’s text describes the Yellow Line as a proposed limit in Gaza and does not state that percentage.
  • Palestine Chronicle’s headline states 60% of Gaza; RT’s text gives the Yellow Line as a proposed boundary but does not provide a percentage, so the sources do not provide two figures for the same measure.
  • Smotrich’s proposals and characterization of the Palestinian Authority are reported as his statements; the sources do not provide a competing official account.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • Smotrich said Israel should wage war in Judea and Samaria, dismantle the Palestinian Authority and repeat actions taken in Gaza.
  • Smotrich called the Palestinian Authority “a terrorist authority.”
  • Smotrich described withholding food and water from Gaza’s population until hostages were returned as potentially “just and moral.”
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The sources do not provide a legal analysis or ruling on whether the proposed annexations would be lawful.
  • The sources do not give estimates of the population that would be affected by the proposed annexations or food-and-water restrictions.
  • The coverage does not establish whether Smotrich’s proposals have been adopted as government policy.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The system has operated since Israel’s first election, held on January 25, 1949, and has allowed small parties to gain seats and sometimes become pivotal in coalition negotiations.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. The West Bank became central to Israeli-Palestinian politics after the June 1967 war, when Israel captured the territory from Jordan.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Oslo Accords, establishing a process of limited Palestinian self-government.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. The Palestinian Authority was established in 1994 under the Oslo process.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. Smotrich’s party, founded as Tkuma in 1998 and later renamed the Religious Zionist Party, is part of that tradition.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. Hamas took control of Gaza.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  7. Israel held an election for the 25th Knesset.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  8. Benjamin Netanyahu's government took office with Bezalel Smotrich as finance minister.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  9. Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  10. In September 2026, Bezalel Smotrich said on a podcast that Israel should wage war in the West Bank, dismantle the Palestinian Authority and repeat actions taken in Gaza.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

In September 2026, Bezalel Smotrich said on a podcast that Israel should wage war in the West Bank, dismantle the Palestinian Authority and repeat actions taken in Gaza. That statement followed a longer political project: Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party has advocated extending Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, which it calls Judea and Samaria.

The party’s influence in coalition talks rests on Israel’s parliamentary system, not on winning a majority of the vote. Israel’s 120-seat Knesset is elected through nationwide proportional representation.

Original sources

1 of 4 articles · Middle East · Show all

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