Last night’s airwaves were dominated by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's statements calling Israel to impose sovereignty and expand settlements in the West Bank, with extensive coverage of Egypt's condemnation of the far-right minister's remarks across the channels.

Egypt condemns Israeli minister's “extremist” settlement remarks: The Foreign Ministry strongly condemned remarks by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling Israel to impose sovereignty and expand settlements in the West Bank. The ministry described the comments as “irresponsible” and a “flagrant violation” of international law, humanitarian law, and UN Security Council resolutions, as well as the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion on Israeli occupation. The statement added that Smotrich's remarks reflect Israel's rejection of regional peace and “the absence of an Israeli partner capable of taking concrete steps to end the occupation.”

“The idea of West Bank [settlement] expansion comes within Israeli plans stipulating that Israel expands its territories every 25 years," international relations professor Rami Ashour told Azza Moustafa (watch, runtime: 8:33). He noted that Smotrich's statements aren't his personal views, but they rather reflect the Israel's far-right’s thinking process, which seeks to expand settlement plans.

Smotrich's remarks are a way of testing the water: The idea of Israeli settlement expansion through West Bank annexation is merely a “test to gauge Arab countries' reactions” and requires “bilateral Arab-Israeli and Arab-American talks to reveal the true intentions behind this matter,” political thinker Mostafa El Feki told Sherif Amer on Yahduth Fi Misr (watch, runtime: 2:47). He added that Israel is implementing a scorched earth policy in Gaza to pave the way for settlements (watch, runtime: 3:20).

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