Israel Drafts Plan to Annex West Bank Settlements

An Israeli settlement in the West Bank. (Reuters)
An Israeli settlement in the West Bank. (Reuters)
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Israel Drafts Plan to Annex West Bank Settlements

An Israeli settlement in the West Bank. (Reuters)
An Israeli settlement in the West Bank. (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed calls from his ministers to impose Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank next year after US President Donald Trump takes office.

In recent private talks, Netanyahu said the issue of sovereignty in the West Bank should return to the agenda once Trump is in the White House, according to public broadcaster Kan.

This aligns Netanyahu with coalition members already pushing for such a move next year.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, head of the National Religious Party - Zionism Party and holds a position within Israel’s Defense Ministry where he oversees the administration of the occupied West Bank and its settlements, said Monday that a Trump win would create a “key opportunity” for Israel to impose sovereignty.

“We were close to applying sovereignty to settlements in Judea and Samaria during Trump’s last term, and now it’s time to make it happen,” he said.

“2025: the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” Smotrich wrote on X, using the biblical name by which Israel refers to the occupied West Bank.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also welcomed Donald Trump’s victory, saying, “This is the time for sovereignty.”

Trump’s win has encouraged Israeli right-wing leaders to push for annexing and expanding West Bank settlements.

The plan to extend sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and West Bank settlements dates back to 2020, when Netanyahu sought Trump’s approval to move forward.

Kan reported that annexation plans are ready to be implemented.

In 2020, as part of Trump’s “Deal of the Century,” Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin’s team, working with US officials, prepared maps, regulations, and a draft government resolution, Kan said.

The plan includes access roads and potential expansion zones for each settlement.

The West Bank is home to around 144 official settlements and over 100 unofficial outposts, covering approximately 42% of the territory, including their jurisdictions. These areas house about 600,000 Israeli settlers.



Blinken: US Wants Real, Extended Pauses in Fighting in Gaza

FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken  speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
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Blinken: US Wants Real, Extended Pauses in Fighting in Gaza

FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken  speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

The United States wants real and extended pauses in fighting in Gaza so assistance can get to people who need it, but the best way to help people would be to end the war, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
"Israel, by the standards it set itself, has accomplished the goals that it set for itself," Blinken told reporters during a visit to Brussels. "This should be a time to end the war."
On Tuesday, after the expiry of a 30-day US deadline for Israel to take steps to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Washington said Israel was
not blocking aid to Gaza and therefore not violating US law.
Eight international aid groups said Israel had failed to meet the US demands to improve access for assistance. Food security experts have said it is likely that
famine is imminent in parts of Gaza.
Biden, whose term ends in January and who will be replaced with his predecessor Donald Trump, has strongly backed Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.
Since then, more than 43,500 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza, with 2 million displaced people and much of the strip reduced to rubble.
Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, has strongly backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's goal of destroying Hamas. He has promised to bring peace to the Middle East, but has not said how he would accomplish that.