Palestine: Palestine and Jordan condemned remarks by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday, indicating his intent to engage with the incoming Trump administration in the US to gain support for Israel's extension of sovereignty to the occupied West Bank by 2025 through the annexation of Jewish settlements there. The two countries warned that such plans could lead to a 'total regional explosion' and exacerbate displacement and conflict. According to Anadolu Agency, Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh and the Palestinian Foreign Ministry issued statements condemning the remarks, which were echoed by Hamas and the Jordanian Foreign Ministry. Smotrich had earlier instructed Israel's Settlement Division and Civil Administration, both linked to the Defense Ministry, to initiate groundwork for infrastructure to 'apply sovereignty,' as reported by Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. Abu Rudeineh indicated that Smotrich's statements reveal Israel's intent to 'complete its control o ver the West Bank by 2025,' and these remarks openly defy a UN General Assembly resolution for implementing an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced Israeli plans as 'a distinct form of colonial racism' and an extension of 'genocide and displacement against Palestinians.' The ministry criticized the policy as a 'repeated disdain' of the international consensus on a two-state solution. Hamas also condemned Smotrich's comments, warning they would only 'heighten tension and escalation regionally and internationally.' The Palestinian group reaffirmed that 'Palestinians and resistance factions will continue to oppose these occupation plans.' The Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned Smotrich's remarks as 'extremist, racist incitement,' denouncing Israel's sovereignty plans as an 'egregious violation of international law and the Palestinian people's right to an independent state along the June 4, 1967 lines with Jerusa lem as its capital.' Amman reaffirmed its 'unequivocal rejection' of such incitement and declared that 'Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories.' Earlier in the day, Smotrich stated that 2025 would mark the year of applying Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank while speaking at a meeting of the Religious Zionism Party, which he leads. He also congratulated Donald Trump on his US presidential election victory, according to Yedioth Ahronoth. The far-right minister argued that Trump's win presents a valuable opportunity for Israel, citing Trump's previous actions such as relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. This is not the first time Smotrich has raised the issue. In June, he confirmed reports from The New York Times regarding a 'secret plan' to annex the West Bank. On July 19, the ICJ reaffirmed Palestinians' right to self-determination, asserting that Israeli settlements on occupied land must be dismantled. T he court ruled that the territories constitute a 'single territorial unit' to be protected and respected, expressing doubt that extending Israeli law to include the West Bank and East Jerusalem could be justified.