The defense minister struck first. On Friday, May 30, Israel Katz visited the north of the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967. In a video, he addressed French President Emmanuel Macron directly: This serves as "a clear message to Macron and his friends. They will recognize a Palestinian state on paper — and we will build the Jewish-Israeli state on the ground." He added: "That paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the state of Israel will prosper and flourish." These comments confirmed, incidentally, Israel's policy of annexation of the West Bank.

Katz spoke from the former settlement of Sa-Nur, dismantled along with three other Jewish settlements surrounding the Palestinian city of Jenin as part of the 2005 disengagement plan, which also led to the withdrawal of the Israeli army and settlers from the Gaza Strip. However, the Israeli government has moved to massively accelerate settlement expansion throughout the West Bank, approving on Thursday the construction or legalization of 22 settlements, including Sa-Nur, all considered illegal by the international community.

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