These statements demonstrate a flagrant violation of international law, international humanitarian law, and all relevant UN Security Council resolutions, asserted the Egyptian foreign ministry in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement added that Smotrich’s extremist comments also violate the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Israeli occupation.

The ICJ’s landmark opinion, issued on 19 July, calls for an immediate cessation of Israel’s settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and an end to the illegal occupation of those areas and the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.

Smotrich wrote on X on Monday that he hopes to push for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank by 2025, believing US President-elect Donald Trump would back this move.

"I have instructed the authorities overseeing the West Bank settlements to begin professional and comprehensive staff work to prepare for extending sovereignty," the far-right minister said.

Meanwhile, Egypt affirmed that these irresponsible and extremist statements by a member of the Israeli government clearly demonstrate Israel’s rejection to pursue peace in the region and highlight the lack of Israel's willing to make bold decisions for peace.

Such statements also indicate Israel's persistent policy of arrogance, which is the same policy that has led the region into its current cycle of conflict.

These extremist statements blatantly contradict the stance of the international community, which calls for the end of occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Cairo stressed its rejection of these disgraceful statements that fuel extremism and violence, reaffirming the international responsibility to protect the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is their right to self-determination.

"Gaining these rights is the only viable and practical solution to end the conflict in the region and break the cycle of violence and destruction," read the statement.

Egypt further warned against pursuing a path of escalation and extremism aimed at prolonging, intensifying, and expanding the current conflict.

Israel has built over 100 settlements across the West Bank, some of which resemble fully developed suburbs or small towns.

These settlements are home to over 500,000 Israeli settlers, while three million Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule.

The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank but is barred from operating in 60 percent of the territory, where the settlements are located.