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Likud Lobby for Full Annexation of the West Bank

Demonstrators are seen in Tel Aviv protesting against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to annex parts of the West Bank (Reuters)
Demonstrators are seen in Tel Aviv protesting against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to annex parts of the West Bank (Reuters)
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Likud Lobby for Full Annexation of the West Bank

Demonstrators are seen in Tel Aviv protesting against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to annex parts of the West Bank (Reuters)
Demonstrators are seen in Tel Aviv protesting against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to annex parts of the West Bank (Reuters)

Israel’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank is facing many obstacles from within the US administration and Israeli government, however, a Likud lobby is pressuring for full annexation.

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan is leading the initiative for fully annexing the lands under Israeli sovereignty as he has previously supported the plan of US President Donald Trump, including the establishment of a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and 70 percent of the West Bank.

Dagan has threatened to withdraw his support if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abandons his plans to annex the Jordan Valley and northern West Bank.

He announced that a large group of the settlers has agreed to a compromise out of respect for Trump, however, if there are advisors in Washington who are pressuring Israel to limit itself to a symbolic annexation and the government accepts it, they will demand a full annexation.

Dagan stressed that this is not directed at Netanyahu, but rather to help him withstand the pressure. He explained that the US administration is asking the PM for a unified position with the Blue and White party on the size of the annexation.

Journalist Jacob Bardugo said Netanyahu should be worried about this move because it could lead to the emergence of strong political leadership that could succeed him.

The settlers are also supported by Likud Central Committee head Haim Katz, who is an important figure of the party and enjoys large support among the far-right.

Katz confirmed that he would soon invite his council to take the necessary decisions, stressing that it was not against the Prime Minister, but rather to help him.

Member of Knesset Ariel Kallner, who is a settler as well, supports the calls for full annexation, warning the Jordanian leadership against objecting the plans.

Kallner was responding to an earlier statement of Jordan’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Daifallah Fayez where he denounced the Israeli excavations at the Temple Mount.

Settler Kallner also indicated that the Temple Mount and the West Bank are Israeli lands, adding that Jordan should be concerned with its sovereignty over its land.

Earlier, Netanyahu announced that negotiations are still ongoing with the US administration over the implementation of the annexation plan.

The Jerusalem Post, an Israeli newspaper, reported a source familiar with the discussions as saying that the White House peace team is expected to further discuss the plans with the participation of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Special Representative for International Negotiations Avi Berkowitz, and National Security Council Member Scott Leith.

He said that the Israeli government’s plan to impose its sovereignty on areas in the West Bank is still possible in the current month of July.

Meanwhile, Israel’s newly appointed UN representative, Gilad Erdan, said the international opposition of the annexation plans should not be underestimated, noting that he will explain the importance of this step for Israel’s interests.

Erdan indicated, in a radio interview, that Israel’s unilateral withdrawals from the Gaza Strip did not lead to peace, and that the only thing that will ensure its presence would be the establishment of borders.

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Arab World

A New Year Dawns on a Middle East Torn by Conflict and Change

A member of the Syrian Salvation Government stands guard in front of a graffiti that reads "Heaven, my homeland" on New Year's Eve at the Bab Touma square, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
A member of the Syrian Salvation Government stands guard in front of a graffiti that reads "Heaven, my homeland" on New Year's Eve at the Bab Touma square, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
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A New Year Dawns on a Middle East Torn by Conflict and Change

A member of the Syrian Salvation Government stands guard in front of a graffiti that reads "Heaven, my homeland" on New Year's Eve at the Bab Touma square, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)
A member of the Syrian Salvation Government stands guard in front of a graffiti that reads "Heaven, my homeland" on New Year's Eve at the Bab Touma square, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 31, 2024. (Reuters)

In Damascus, the streets were buzzing with excitement Tuesday as Syrians welcomed in a new year that seemed to many to bring a promise of a brighter future after the unexpected fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government weeks earlier.

While Syrians in the capital looked forward to a new beginning after the ousting of Assad, the mood was more somber along Beirut’s Mediterranean promenade, where residents shared cautious hopes for the new year, reflecting on a country still reeling from war and ongoing crises.

War-weary Palestinians in Gaza who lost their homes and loved ones in 2024 saw little hope that 2025 would bring an end to their suffering.

The last year was a dramatic one in the Middle East, bringing calamity to some and hope to others. Across the region, it felt foolish to many to attempt to predict what the next year might bring.

In Damascus, Abir Homsi said she is optimistic about a future for her country that would include peace, security and freedom of expression and would bring Syrian communities previously divided by battle lines back together.

“We will return to how we once were, when people loved each other, celebrated together whether it is Ramadan or Christmas or any other holiday — no restricted areas for anyone,” she said.

But for many, the new year and new reality carried with it reminders of the painful years that came before.

Abdulrahman al-Habib, from the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, had come to Damascus in hopes of finding relatives who disappeared after being arrested under Assad’s rule. He was at the capital’s Marjeh Square, where relatives of the missing have taken to posting photos of their loved ones in search of any clue to their whereabouts.

“We hope that in the new year, our status will be better ... and peace will prevail in the whole Arab world,” he said.

In Lebanon, a tenuous ceasefire brought a halt to fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah group a little over a month ago. The country battered by years of economic collapse, political instability and a series of calamities since 2019, continues to grapple with uncertainty, but the truce has brought at least a temporary return to normal life.

Some families flocked to the Mzaar Ski Resort in the mountains northeast of Beirut on Tuesday to enjoy the day in the snow even though the resort had not officially opened.

“What happened and what’s still happening in the region, especially in Lebanon recently, has been very painful,” said Youssef Haddad, who came to ski with his family. “We have great hope that everything will get better.”

On Beirut's seaside corniche, Mohammad Mohammad from the village of Marwahin in southern Lebanon was strolling with his three children.

“I hope peace and love prevail next year, but it feels like more (challenges) await us,” he said.

Mohammad was among the tens of thousands displaced during more than a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Now living in Jadra, a town that was also bombarded during the conflict, he awaits the end of a 60-day period, after which the Israeli army is required to withdraw under the conditions of a French and US-brokered ceasefire.

“Our village was completely destroyed,” Mohammad said. His family would spend a quiet evening at home, he said. This year “was very hard on us. I hope 2025 is better than all the years that passed.”

In Gaza, where the war between Hamas and Israel has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians, brought massive destruction and displaced most of the enclave's population, few saw cause for optimism in the new year.

“The year 2024 was one of the worst years for all Palestinian people. It was a year of hunger, displacement, suffering and poverty,” said Nour Abu Obaid, a displaced woman from northern Gaza.

Obaid, whose 10-year-old child was killed in a strike in the so-called “humanitarian zone” in Muwasi, said she didn’t expect anything good in 2025. “The world is dead,” she said. “We do not expect anything, we expect the worst.”

The war was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in which fighters killed around 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others.

Ismail Salih, who lost his home and livelihood, expressed hopes for an end to the war in 2025 so that Gaza's people can start rebuilding their lives.

The year that passed “was all war and all destruction,” he said. “Our homes are gone, our trees are gone, our livelihood is lost.”

In the coming year, Salih said he hopes that Palestinians can “live like the rest of the people of the world, in security, reassurance and peace.”