Israel's deputy premier has said West Bank annexations must wait, while allies and regional powers have condemned the project -- but hours before his government can move forward, the prime minister's plans remained unknown Tuesday
1 / 2Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Kramim in the occupied West Bank. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it could begin annexations of Jewish settlements in the West Bank as well as the strategic Jordan Valley from July 1Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Kramim in the occupied West Bank.
Ahead of the self-imposed kick-off date, Netanyahu met in Jerusalem with US Ambassador David Friedman, a supporter of Jewish West Bank settlers, and Washington's envoy for international negotiations, Avi Berkowitz. On Monday, Netanyahu's chief coalition partner, defence minister and alternate prime minister Benny Gantz, said annexation must be put on hold until Israel's resurging coronavirus outbreak has been contained.
But Gulf leaders have also made clear that moves towards annexation would threaten any warming relations with the Jewish state.Even Israelis, battered by the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic, appear lukewarm about annexation moves now. Netanyahu has not revealed his plans, but Israeli media have suggested action could be delayed, or that the premier might pursue a merely symbolic move like the annexation of one settlement on Jerusalem's outskirts.
Erez Yakoobi, who lectures in the psychology of leadership at Israel's Ono Academic College, said Netanyahu is motivated by one key question:"How can I stay prime minister in the long-run?"
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