Israel's Netanyahu says plans to annex settlements in West Bank if reelected

By Maayan Lubell

 

FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting with NATO countries' ambassadors to Israel in Jerusalem January 9, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

 

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he would annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank if he wins another term in office, a last-minute pre-election promise likely to enrage Palestinians and the Arab world.

 

In an interview with Israeli Channel 12 News three days ahead of the April 9 poll, Netanyahu was asked why he had not extended sovereignty to large West Bank settlements, as Israel did without international recognition in east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, both captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

 

"Who says that we won't do it? We are on the way and we are discussing it," Netanyahu said.

 

"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 (Israeli) sovereignty and I don't distinguish between settlement blocs and the isolated settlements."

 

The veteran right-wing Israeli leader, who has dominated Israeli politics for a generation, is fighting for his political survival against former top general Benny Gantz, a political novice campaigning on a centrist platform.

 

Netanyahu has cast Gantz as a weak leftist who would endanger Israel’s security by giving territorial concessions to the Palestinians.

 

But Netanyahu, who has fought the election campaign under the shadow of corruption allegations, is also competing for votes with far-right parties who advocate annexation. His comments are likely to appeal to hardline voters, who oppose ceding lands.

 

Palestinian leaders immediately reacted with anger.

 

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator and a close aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said: "Israel will continue to brazenly violate international law for as long as the international community will continue to reward Israel with impunity, particularly with the Trump Administration's support and endorsement of Israel's violation of the national and human rights of the people of Palestine."

 

In Gaza, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri urged Abbas's western-backed Palestinian Authority to halt its security cooperation with Israel in the occupied West Bank.

 

"Netanyahu's dreams of annexing the West Bank will never be achieved and we will not allow that to happen," he said.

 

"It is time for (the PA) to stop security coordination with the occupation, and to get united in the face of the challenges."

 

WEST BANK

 

Settlements are one of the most heated issues in efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, frozen since 2014.

 

After decades of settlement-building, more than 400,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank, according to Israeli figures, among about 2.9 million Palestinians according to the Palestinian Statistics Bureau.

 

A further 212,000 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

 

The Palestinians and many countries consider settlements to be illegal under the Geneva conventions that bar settling on land captured in war. Israel disputes this, citing security needs and biblical, historical and political connections to the land.

 

The Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, all territory Israel captured in 1967. Israel has annexed east Jerusalem and withdrawn from Gaza. The West Bank remains under Israeli military occupation with limited Palestinian self rule.

 

Netanyahu's remarks follow a series of announcements and policy changes by U.S. President Donald Trump that were seen to favour Israel.

 

In March, Trump broke with decades of international consensus by recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, territory Israel captured from Syria.

 

That followed his December 2017 decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and to move the U.S. embassy there. Both moves delighted Israel, infuriated Palestinian and Arab leaders, and were opposed by most U.S. allies.

 

With Trump's moves on Jerusalem and The Golan, the Israeli leader may feel emboldened to advocate for annexation.

 

U.S. officials have said they would unveil a long-awaited Trump administration Middle East peace plan after the Israeli election, but prospects to restart negotiations appear dim.

 

The Palestinians have been boycotting the Trump administration over its Jerusalem moves and other recent decisions they view as pro-Israel bias.

 

ELECTION CAMPAIGN

 

The U.S. State Department declined to comment about Netanyahu's remarks, which were viewed in the Israeli media as an attempt to draw right-wing votes rather than an immediate change of policy.

 

Netanyahu has been plagued by corruption allegations throughout the election campaign, after Israel's attorney general publicly announced in February that he intends to indict Netanyahu.

 

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing in three cases of alleged bribery and fraud, but the allegations could cloud his political future and that of any government he might head, possibly leading to a new election.

 

His main election rival, Gantz, has vowed to pursue peace with the Palestinians, but he has also stopped short at embracing their quest for statehood.

 

A spokeswoman for Gantz declined comment on Netanyahu's remarks.

 

On Friday, the last day polling is allowed, Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party was projected to take 30 seats, more than the 26 forecast for Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud, according to a poll in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

 

But this and other polls also projected a majority of the Knesset's 120 seats will go to the parties in Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc, giving Netanyahu a slim but workable majority.

 

A few days before the previous Israeli election in 2015, Netanyahu vowed there would never be a Palestinian state under his watch but then backtracked on that statement after a rebuke from Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

 

Last year, however, Netanyahu told members of his right-wing Likud party that Israel and the United States were discussing the possibility of Israel annexing settlements. The White House swiftly denied that.

 

While vowing that he would not evacuate settlers from their homes, Netanyahu has also said in the past that the future of the settlements should be determined in peace talks with the Palestinians.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-04-07

OP..
"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 (Israeli) sovereignty and I don't distinguish between settlement blocs and the isolated settlements."

 

As I indicated last month with Trump's recognition of Israel's illegal annexation of Golan, the global community was being softened up for what Netanyahu calls "the next stage": the illegal annexation of Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

 

I doubt Netanyahu is pre-empting Trump's supposedly secret ultimate peace deal due to be announced after the Israeli elections because he probably is aware of every last word in it being close family friends of Kushner.

 

No doubt Trump will approve this illegal act too ignoring all international law,  setting a dangerous precedent that in the 21st century it is OK to acquire territory by force, ethnically cleanse the indigenous population, and transfer your own population there, which will undermine all US credibility when it criticizes other countries for doing exactly that.

And of course Israel and the USA will again stand alone because no other countries in the world will support this illegal act.

 

So why do they do it? Because they have the military might to do so. But just because the bully appears to win , it does not mean it is right.

 

There is a price to pay. Israel may annex the West Bank but what about the 2.8 million indigenous Palestinians living there long before mainly European colonists arrived? Will Israel annex them and give them equal rights too? Or will de facto apartheid become overt apartheid? The struggle for Palestinian human and civil rights will indeed move onto the "next stage": an overt anti apartheid campaign. The racist supremacist ideology of Zionism is digging itself a deeper hole, which hopefully will be the cause of its own demise.

 

The only way to prevent Israeli illegal annexation and apartheid is international sanctions from Israel's largest trading partner, the EU.
 

3 hours ago, dexterm said:

setting a dangerous precedent that in the 21st century it is OK to acquire territory by force

And maybe a precedent for Trump to argue that Russia's occupation and annexation of Crimea was "appropriate" in asking Congress to lift sanctions against Russia?

 

This man Netanyahu is the incarnation of evil. If the Israelis elect him again, shame on them. No amount of changing the definition of anti-semitism will stop criticism of the actions of the likes of Netanyahu, Likud and ultra right wing zionists.

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

And maybe a precedent for Trump to argue that Russia's occupation and annexation of Crimea was "appropriate" in asking Congress to lift sanctions against Russia?

 

Nothing so rational as a consistent foreign policy based on a concrete set of values will every emerge from the US. Everything depends on whether it is to America's advantage or not, seen through the insane eyeballs of the likes of Trump, Pompeo and Bolton.

Follow the money trail..normally that's the answer

OP..
"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 (Israeli) sovereignty and I don't distinguish between settlement blocs and the isolated settlements."
 
As I indicated last month with Trump's recognition of Israel's illegal annexation of Golan, the global community was being softened up for what Netanyahu calls "the next stage": the illegal annexation of Palestinian lands in the West Bank.
 
I doubt Netanyahu is pre-empting Trump's supposedly secret ultimate peace deal due to be announced after the Israeli elections because he probably is aware of every last word in it being close family friends of Kushner.
 
No doubt Trump will approve this illegal act too ignoring all international law,  setting a dangerous precedent that in the 21st century it is OK to acquire territory by force, ethnically cleanse the indigenous population, and transfer your own population there, which will undermine all US credibility when it criticizes other countries for doing exactly that.
And of course Israel and the USA will again stand alone because no other countries in the world will support this illegal act.
 
So why do they do it? Because they have the military might to do so. But just because the bully appears to win , it does not mean it is right.
 
There is a price to pay. Israel may annex the West Bank but what about the 2.8 million indigenous Palestinians living there long before mainly European colonists arrived? Will Israel annex them and give them equal rights too? Or will de facto apartheid become overt apartheid? The struggle for Palestinian human and civil rights will indeed move onto the "next stage": an overt anti apartheid campaign. The racist supremacist ideology of Zionism is digging itself a deeper hole, which hopefully will be the cause of its own demise.
 
The only way to prevent Israeli illegal annexation and apartheid is international sanctions from Israel's largest trading partner, the EU.
 

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Well..personally speaking..religion is one of the most EVILS in the world..and has been for many hundreds of years.
What kind if god would stand by and watch/do nothing as his/her followers slaughtered one another????????

This man Netanyahu is the incarnation of evil. If the Israelis elect him again, shame on them. No amount of changing the definition of anti-semitism will stop criticism of the actions of the likes of Netanyahu, Likud and ultra right wing zionists.

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37 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

Nothing so rational as a consistent foreign policy based on a concrete set of values will every emerge from the US. Everything depends on whether it is to America's advantage or not, seen through the insane eyeballs of the likes of Trump, Pompeo and Bolton.

It's actually worse than that!

 Trump today admitted that he changed decades of US foreign policy recognizing Israel's previous illegal annexation on a mere whim! 

"I said, ‘Fellows, do me a favour. Give me a little history, quick. Want to go fast. I got a lot of things I’m working on: China, North Korea. Give me a quickie,” he said, according to Reuters.

He said he had then continued: “How do you like the idea of me recognising exactly what we’re discussing?”"

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/trump-golan-heights-israel-syria-sovereignty-snap-decision-las-vegas-sheldon-adelson-a8858461.html

 

Total irresponsibility affecting the lives of millions and possibly the safety of the USA if his actions radicalises someone seeking revenge.
 

Another leader who should be in the Hague. Why on earth the USA still supports him is beyond me but then I say that about the Brits and Saudi.

 

I guess I will be called anti semantic, as that is the usual cry when you criticism of Israel happens, in any form.

When the formerly 'oppressed' , become the oppressors.

But would rather the  entire world focus only on  their former oppression.

 

And this country claims to be , "the only democracy in the middle east'' ...

When the formerly 'oppressed' , become the oppressors. But would rather the  entire world focus only on  their former oppression.  

And this country claims to be , "the only democracy in the middle east'' ...

 

 

It isn't?   

I can understand not liking Bibi but he had been democratically elected. Hopefully he'll lose this time but probably not.

 

I also think that being liked by everyone in the world is a lower priority for Israel. The top priority is the continued existence of their country. One could argue that annexing the West Bank is not in Israel's long term interests but the voters there may disagree.

 

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Another leader who should be in the Hague. Why on earth the USA still supports him is beyond me but then I say that about the Brits and Saudi.
 
I guess I will be called anti semantic, as that is the usual cry when you criticism of Israel happens, in any form.

No, criticism of the Israeli government policies per se is not antisemitic. Most Jews in the world would have some criticism. When that bleeds into antisemitism is usually very obvious.

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This man Netanyahu is the incarnation of evil. If the Israelis elect him again, shame on them. No amount of changing the definition of anti-semitism will stop criticism of the actions of the likes of Netanyahu, Likud and ultra right wing zionists.

Again criticism of Israeli government policies is not antisemitic per se. Who is saying that it is?




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5 hours ago, Laughing Gravy said:

Another leader who should be in the Hague. Why on earth the USA still supports him is beyond me but then I say that about the Brits and Saudi.

 

I guess I will be called anti semantic, as that is the usual cry when you criticism of Israel happens, in any form.

 

It's nothing other than boy who cried wolf syndrome which is neither new nor unusual. Quite distasteful really. When the formation of Israel was being discussed in various bodies around the world it was pointed out by many that it cause both this response and that unallocated land would be taken (by force if needs be) by the new state. They were right.

 

As for why the U.S. still supports Israel.... Evangelical voters is very high on the list of reasons.

 

With reference to the OP. Not surprising since Bibi has publicly stated that he will never give back the occupied territories and this statement just as polling began likely won him the last election. All normal.   

 

 

The vote hasn't happened yet. There is still time to defeat Bibi.

 

Interesting perspective of an Israeli Arab rapper --

 

 

14 hours ago, Jingthing said:

No, criticism of the Israeli government policies per se is not antisemitic. Most Jews in the world would have some criticism. When that bleeds into antisemitism is usually very obvious.

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I agree but certainly in British politics, you criticise Israel or anything Jewish and you get the Anti-Sematic card thrown at you.

On ‎4‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 2:36 PM, dexterm said:

OP..
"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 (Israeli) sovereignty and I don't distinguish between settlement blocs and the isolated settlements."

 

As I indicated last month with Trump's recognition of Israel's illegal annexation of Golan, the global community was being softened up for what Netanyahu calls "the next stage": the illegal annexation of Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

 

I doubt Netanyahu is pre-empting Trump's supposedly secret ultimate peace deal due to be announced after the Israeli elections because he probably is aware of every last word in it being close family friends of Kushner.

 

No doubt Trump will approve this illegal act too ignoring all international law,  setting a dangerous precedent that in the 21st century it is OK to acquire territory by force, ethnically cleanse the indigenous population, and transfer your own population there, which will undermine all US credibility when it criticizes other countries for doing exactly that.

And of course Israel and the USA will again stand alone because no other countries in the world will support this illegal act.

 

So why do they do it? Because they have the military might to do so. But just because the bully appears to win , it does not mean it is right.

 

There is a price to pay. Israel may annex the West Bank but what about the 2.8 million indigenous Palestinians living there long before mainly European colonists arrived? Will Israel annex them and give them equal rights too? Or will de facto apartheid become overt apartheid? The struggle for Palestinian human and civil rights will indeed move onto the "next stage": an overt anti apartheid campaign. The racist supremacist ideology of Zionism is digging itself a deeper hole, which hopefully will be the cause of its own demise.

 

The only way to prevent Israeli illegal annexation and apartheid is international sanctions from Israel's largest trading partner, the EU.
 

He is heading for an international anti apartheid style campaign against Israel like the one that brought down the white Sth African rule.

The sooner he goes ahead with the annexation, the sooner the campaign begins.

Let's remember that the US supported Sth Africa white government till the bitter end, so it's not necessary for the US government to stand against this.

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

He is heading for an international anti apartheid style campaign against Israel like the one that brought down the white Sth African rule.

The sooner he goes ahead with the annexation, the sooner the campaign begins.

Let's remember that the US supported Sth Africa white government till the bitter end, so it's not necessary for the US government to stand against this.

All good points... concise, and spot on.

The parallels with apartheid South Africa are obvious.

The Israelis are isolated just like the white South Africans were.

The whole world was against them.

Now they're history.

 

But they will go down fighting against the followers of a 7th century kinky " holy man "

All good points... concise, and spot on.
The parallels with apartheid South Africa are obvious.
The Israelis are isolated just like the white South Africans were.
The whole world was against them.
Now they're history.
 

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Its about time. Should have done it years ago.

 

You start a war, you lose, sucks to be you. Aggressors always lose.

 

But, I'll agree they should give it back when Poland gives back Danzig, the Brits give back Gibraltar, the Chinese give back Tibet, the Russians give back Konigsberg (hell where is East Prussia) and the French give back Metz. 

 

 

 

 

On 4/7/2019 at 2:51 PM, Pedrogaz said:

This man Netanyahu is the incarnation of evil. If the Israelis elect him again, shame on them. No amount of changing the definition of anti-semitism will stop criticism of the actions of the likes of Netanyahu, Likud and ultra right wing zionists.

I lost all sympathy for Israeli many years ago.  They are no better than those who persecuted them years ago. 

7 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

I lost all sympathy for Israeli many years ago.  They are no better than those who persecuted them years ago. 

Now that I would consider a classic antisemitic comment. By definition. Suggesting that the behavior of the Israeli government is equivalent to what the Nazis did is truly SICK. Not even close. I don't even believe that people the post such garbage believe it. It's pure hate speech. 

 

There is no problem at all with reasoned criticism of the Israeli government. What you posted has no relation to logic or reason.

 

Quote

Anti-Semitism for Dummies: A Visual Guide

See the section on Demonization and how it relates to the inflammatory anti-Semitic post above --

 

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/anti-semitism-for-dummies-a-visual-guide/

Edited April 8, 20197 yr by Jingthing

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Now that I would consider an anti-Semitic comment. By definition. Suggesting that the behavior of the Israeli government is equivalent to what the Nazis did is truly SICK. Not even close. I don't even believe that people the post such garbage believe it. It's pure hate speech. 

 

Nazis? Where did that come from?

 

 

 

Just now, Jingthing said:

Now that I would consider an anti-Semitic comment. By definition. Suggesting that the behavior of the Israeli government is equivalent to what the Nazis did is truly SICK. Not even close. I don't even believe that people the post such garbage believe it. It's pure hate speech. 

Its Israel I have no time for, not the Jews.  My Father and all of his family are Jewish. It doesn't stop me telling the truth about an oppressive regime that is as determined to destroy the Palestinians as they are to destroy Israel . The idiocy of it all is that they are both from the same set of tribes.  

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Now that I would consider an anti-Semitic comment. By definition. Suggesting that the behavior of the Israeli government is equivalent to what the Nazis did is truly SICK. Not even close. I don't even believe that people the post such garbage believe it. It's pure hate speech. 

who said anything about Nazis? 

2 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

Its Israel I have no time for, not the Jews.  My Father and all of his family are Jewish. It doesn't stop me telling the truth about an oppressive regime that is as determined to destroy the Palestinians as they are to destroy Israel . The idiocy of it all is that they are both from the same set of tribes.  

I don't care if your name is Hymie Goldberg -- you posted total garbage that is by definition antisemitic. Shame on you. 

Edited April 8, 20197 yr by Jingthing

Get it over and done with , annex the West bank and stick the Israeli flag over the whole area , its not as if Israeli haters could hate them anymore

3 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

who said anything about Nazis? 

You were obviously insinuating that. Don't play innocent. It doesn't wash. 

1 minute ago, sanemax said:

Get it over and done with , annex the West bank and stick the Israeli flag over the whole area , its not as if Israeli haters could hate them anymore

I agree about the Israel haters but I don't think that justifies annexation. 

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

I don't care if your name is Hymie Goldberg -- you posted total garbage that is by definition antisemitic. Shame on you. 

Rubbish. So you can't express a negative opinion about a damaging regime like the Israeli government without being called anti Semitic.  That logic is idiotic and pathetic.