How Smotrich and Ben-Gvir extorted Netanyahu into annexing the West Bank
Al-Khamisa News Network - Gaza
How Smotrich and Ben-Gvir Extorted Netanyahu.. Since the Knesset elections in 2022 and the formation of Benjamin Netanyahu’s thirty-seventh government, the prime minister’s political survival has depended on his alliance with two extreme-right blocs led by Bezalel Smotrich (leader of the Religious Zionism party, finance minister and de facto “minister of the West Bank”) and Itamar Ben-Gvir (national security minister).
This alliance did not come for free; it was tied to granting the two men unprecedented powers in the West Bank, bolstering settlement, arming settlers, and diverting billions of shekels to projects that serve a “settler state” at the expense of citizens inside Israel.
Netanyahu’s Trials and Political Extortion
What increases Netanyahu’s political fragility is that his trials in corruption cases (1000, 2000, 4000) are still ongoing in the Jerusalem court. Since October 7, 2023 these cases have seen dozens of postponements because of the war, which has allowed him to remain in power in exchange for successive concessions to his partners.
Thus the relationship with Smotrich and Ben-Gvir turned into mutual political extortion: Netanyahu’s staying in power in return for accelerating the de facto annexation of the West Bank.
Smotrich: Finance Minister and De Facto “Minister of the West Bank”
Through his position within the Defense Ministry, Smotrich took control of the powers of the Civil Administration in the West Bank, gradually converting it from a temporary military administration into a civilian–ministerial administration that serves settlers.
In 2024 alone, he announced the seizure of 12.7 km² in the Jordan Valley, the largest seizure in 30 years.
He allocated 3.61 billion shekels to build settler roads, and pumped billions through “coalition funds.”
He revived the E1 settlement project that separates Jerusalem and the West Bank, which was approved in August 2025, despite international warnings that it would extinguish any chance of a contiguous Palestinian state.
He funded unauthorized outposts with millions of shekels (28 million in 2023 and 75 million in 2024).
He exploited the issue of work permits for Palestinian laborers in the settlements as a tool to strengthen economic control.
Ben-Gvir: Arming Settlers and Fueling Violence
Since the October 2023 war, Ben-Gvir launched a campaign to widely arm settlers:
The number of permanent weapons licenses exceeded 165,000 by mid-2025, while more than 403,000 applications were awaiting approval.
He distributed thousands of rifles to local “emergency brigades.”
This policy has led to a rise in settler violence against Palestinians. According to the organization “Yesh Din,” 94% of settler violence files are closed without indictment, and only 3–7% reach conviction, entrenching a system of near-total impunity.
Mechanism of Extortion: Between Settlement and Weapons
Smotrich and Ben-Gvir possess sensitive pressure tools:
Land and the Civil Administration (Smotrich).
Weapons and internal security (Ben-Gvir).
Budgets and coalition funds (the Finance Ministry).
With every political crisis (the Gaza file, the budget, or negotiations over hostages), they threaten to withdraw from the coalition to extract new gains. As a result, Israel’s ruling coalition has become hostage to the far right.
Regional and International Repercussions
UN and international reports have considered the transfer of West Bank powers from the army to civilian ministers a step toward de facto annexation that threatens any political settlement.
Projects such as E1, control over the Ibrahimi Mosque complex, and repeated raids on al‑Aqsa increase the likelihood of a large-scale security explosion.
Policies of freezing or seizing Palestinian clearance revenues have created suffocating financial crises for the Palestinian Authority, despite U.S. and European pressure.
Netanyahu’s thirty-seventh government has become a government captive to extremism, where the prime minister’s political survival is tied to enabling a settlement project moving toward gradual annexation of the West Bank.
The equation is clear:
Netanyahu’s survival = more settlement and arming.
His fall = likely trials and imprisonment.
Thus the “danger of annexation” is no longer a mere possibility; it has become a reality shaped daily on the ground amid fragile political balances and mutual extortion between Netanyahu and his right‑wing allies.
