Following a number of anti-Israel resolutions passed recently denying the historical Jewish ties to the Old City of Jerusalem, Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) has called upon the Israeli government to annex Judea and Samaria, extending Israeli law to the 450,000 citizens living there.

"It's time to apply Israeli law on Judea and Samaria. We're 50 years on in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem [since the 1967 Six Day War]. It's time that 450,000 Israelis are treated equally. They serve in the army, they pay taxes, they're part and parcel of Israel. It's time for normalcy. It's time to apply Israeli sovereignty on Judea and Samaria."

Bennett added that while he understands the concerns some Israelis feel regarding the possible international backlash to such a move, there are precedents for annexation.

"Menachem Begin in 1981 did the same thing for the Golan Heights. Eshkol in '67 did the same thing in Jerusalem. And there was always a world [that opposed it]. But there was the will power and the courage to do it, and we need to do what's right for Israelis, for the Jews, because that's the right thing to do."

Regarding recent UNESCO resolutions dismissing Jewish historical ties to Jerusalem, the Education Minister said the root of the problem was the failure of Israel to clearly express Jewish rights to the historic Land of Israel.

"That's what happens when we don't treat our own land as ours. The UNESCO resolution is an attempt to deny history. But you know what? You cannot change history. Israel is ours for well over 3,000 years. It will always be ours - as Jerusalem is ours - but it’s time to apply Israeli law to Judea and Samaria."