Israel could annex parts of West Bank in coming years – Netanyahu

Speaking days before the Israeli parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is considering formally annexing certain Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

FILE PHOTO: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. © Reuters / Gali Tibbon

In an interview with Israel's Channel 12 News, Netanyahu promised to annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank if elected for another term next week. “You are asking whether we are moving on to the next stage – the answer is yes, we will move to the next stage. I am going to extend [Israel’s] sovereignty,” he said.

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He went on to say that “each settlement is Israeli and [he] will not hand it over to Palestinian sovereignty.” The prime minister also told journalists that he would not “divide Jerusalem” and would “make sure we control the territory west of Jordan.”

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The right-wing politician also argued against a two-state solution by saying that a Palestinian state would “endanger our existence.”

Earlier, Netanyahu said he’s made it clear to US President Donald Trump that he was not ready to evacuate “a single person” from the West Bank settlements. “All the settlements, without exception, those that are in blocs and those that aren’t, need to remain under Israeli sovereignty,” the PM said, during an interview recorded on Wednesday.

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He also told Trump that any US reconciliation plan for Israel and Palestine must not include the removal of the settlements from the occupied Palestinian lands. “As far as I am concerned, [the evacuation] won’t be [in] there and, if it is, it won’t [happen],” Netanyahu said, adding that Tel Aviv insists on continued control over territories west of the Jordan River (the West Bank).

Asked about the hoped-for US recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the West Bank, Netanyahu told Channel 13 News to “wait until the next term.” At the same time, he praised Trump as “the best friend Israel has had.”

Original: https://www.rt.com/news/455749-israel-annex-west-bank-netanyahu/