US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker said the Israeli government will take into consideration the positions of Arab officials who have objected and warned against its plans to annex vast parts of the West Bank.
“Israel has in the past been savvy with how it handles relations with its Arab partners, and so I’m sure they will take all these factors into consideration,” he told Israel's Kan public radio on Monday.
He added: “However, Israel proceeds, that it will do so while taking steps that will preserve the administration’s vision for peace.
It is no secret that some states in the region “are concerned about annexation, so Israel has a number of decisions before it,” Schenker said.
Israel Hayom reported on Monday that head of Israel's Blue and White Party Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks on annexation. The PM warned his rival that if annexation plans were thwarted “then there will be no government and he will turn to early elections”.
Gantz commented that he wants to implement the annexation, but in a way that benefits Israel and does not put it at odds with the whole world.
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman had mediated in this dispute but in vain.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri has also recently mediated between them, saying that he agrees with the US position that annexation should follow an agreement between Gantz and Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is under tremendous pressures from his right-wing allies and the council of Israeli settlements to move forward with annexation, Deri added, even if partially, in the upcoming month.
