Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged yesterday to annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank if re-elected, a dramatic policy shift apparently aimed at rallying his nationalist base in the final stretch of the tight race.
Mr Netanyahu’s comments on television two days before tomorrow’s poll were an appeal to voters who do not believe in the feasibility of a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
“I will apply sovereignty, but I don’t distinguish between settlement blocs and isolated settlements,” he told Channel 12.
In an earlier interview, Mr Netanyahu said he had told Donald Trump he would not remove settlements or people as part of a future US peace plan.
“I said there shouldn’t be the removal of even one settlement,” Mr Netanyahu told Channel 13.
More than 400,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements in the territory, where more than 2.5 million Palestinians live.
With Washington expected to unveil peace proposals sometime after the election, Mr Netanyahu was asked if he was familiar with the details of the US plan, replying he knew “what should be in it”. Along with settlements, “our ongoing control of all the territory west of the Jordan” River was a further condition set by the Israeli Prime Minister for any US-led peace plan.
Read the article in The Australian (AP, AFP)