Paul Moss

All settlements are considered illegal under international law.

The far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said the move was aimed at blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state.

My colleague Lista Set asked the Israeli government spokesman, David Mensah, if that's the official position.

When Israel withdrew from Gaza, it was effectively a de facto...

It had everything that a state needed.

It had territory, weapons, autonomy, but it delivered the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

So statehood without demilitarization, it doesn't bring peace.

It just brought us October the 7th.

I'm really sorry to interrupt you, but in terms of the news of today, after the security cabinet approved the 19 new settlements, the finance minister, who is himself a settler, Bezalel Smotrid, said the move was aimed at blocking the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Was he speaking for the entire government or is that a personal opinion?

Well, look, the prime minister has made clear that Judea and Samaria, you call them the West Bank.

I find that slightly insulting because...

They are very much the cradle of Jewish civilization.

And Hebron, that's also in the West Bank, as you call it, Judea and Samaria, where Abraham, Isaac and...

Jacob are buried.

These are chapters, key chapters in Jewish history.

And they're not about modern politics.

And they predate any modern Palestinian claim.

So we want to have peace with our neighbors, but it must come from a position of strength.

The Prime Minister has made clear that a Palestinian state without security guarantees is not peace.