![Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on December 9, 2024. [Photo by MAYA ALLERUZZO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2188500771-scaled-e1733834216370-1.jpg)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening encouraged settlers to continue their attacks on Palestinian citizens in the occupied West Bank, while hinting at its imminent annexation under Israeli sovereignty. Netanyahu made his remarks during a ceremony marking the approval of 17 new settlements in the West Bank, according to Israel’s Channel 7. Speaking about the daily assaults carried out by settlers against Palestinians, he said: “The entire people of Israel trust the heroism of our sons.” He added: “From Judea and Samaria [the biblical term for the West Bank] and from all parts of the Land of Israel, we are protecting this land.” Alongside the ongoing war in Gaza, the Israeli army and settlers in the West Bank, […]