Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a small security meeting on Thursday titled “Situation Assessment in the West Bank” to discuss the security implications of several countries recognizing a Palestinian state at the United Nations, the latest being Belgium.

The newspaper “Yedioth Ahronoth” reported that the meeting will also address “possible Israeli response steps,” primarily “imposing Israeli sovereignty” on parts of the occupied West Bank.

Invitations were sent to Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, along with military officials asked to present their security assessments regarding potential steps.

Smotrich reiterated on Wednesday that “the time has come to impose Israeli sovereignty” in the West Bank and warned that “if the Palestinian Authority raises its head and tries to harm us, Israel will destroy it just as it destroyed Hamas.”

He explained that the Israeli annexation plan will cover 82% of the West Bank, with Palestinians continuing to manage their lives independently in the immediate phase, in the same way the Palestinian Authority currently operates, and later through alternative regional civil administrations.

According to a map presented by Smotrich, the annexation plan will not apply to 18% of the West Bank where major Palestinian cities are located. He said about 80,000 Palestinians live in the areas planned for annexation, and their status will be similar to Palestinians in East Jerusalem.

He considered that “80,000 is not demographically significant, which keeps Israel with a Jewish majority,” and according to his plan, Palestinians in this area will not have the right to vote in the Knesset, “and in any case, they will not have democracy or rights,” claiming that “we offer them today the vast majority of democratic rights and freedoms.”

Smotrich added that “the sovereignty map must ensure no Arab terrorist state alongside our sovereignty, which must prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state,” adding, “No settlement blocs, no Area C, no partial sovereignty. All of these keep the rest of the area for the enemy.”

He said the “highest principle for imposing sovereignty is maximum land with minimum population,” claiming “we do not want to manage their lives or impose sovereignty on populations that want to destroy us. This is a preemptive step against the planned political attack against us. If the Palestinian Authority dares to raise its head and tries to harm us, we will destroy them as we do Hamas.”

Later, during his participation in a conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the “Gush Emunim” settler movement in Hebron, Smotrich said he has “every reason to believe that sovereignty will be imposed on areas in the Gaza Strip before Judea and Samaria (the West Bank),” adding that “the intention is to give Hamas a warning before starting the operation; if they do not respond, we will enter and impose sovereignty.”

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Smotrich’s statements, considering them an extension of a series of inciting calls by several Israeli officials and part of committing more crimes of settlement, annexation, extermination, and displacement against the Palestinian people.

The ministry stressed in a statement that all unilateral and illegal occupation measures and plans to change the historical, political, and legal reality in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, will not create any right to occupy Palestinian land and will be considered illegitimate and null from the outset, disregarding the international consensus rejecting occupation and settlement crimes in all forms.