Israel may postpone annexation of Palestine’s West Bank until after US elections – Israeli analyst
RAMALLAH, Palestine (North Press) – An Israeli analyst said on Thursday that if Israel does not annex Palestinian territory within the next two weeks, it will be postponed until after the US presidential elections.
In a statement to North Press, Israeli analyst Eli Nissan said that Israel did not annex some territories from the West Bank on July 1 for many reasons, first of which was the differences in the attitudes between the two parties of the coalition government; Likud (a center-right to right-wing political party headed by Benjamin Netanyahu) and Blue and White (a centrist/liberal coalition headed by Benny Gantz, aiming to defeat Netanyahu) although there was a majority in the Netanyahu government that supports a “broad annexation.”
“The US administration wanted a unified stance for both Netanyahu and Gantz regarding the annexation, which was a reason for the US administration not to give a green light to implement the step,”Nissan said.
He referred to the division among citizens regarding the implementation of the annexation of the intended areas.
He stated that Israeli right-wing fears that if the annexation does not take place within two weeks, it will be postponed for a long time, as the US administration will be busy preparing for the upcoming presidential elections in November.
Nissan noted that Netanyahu decided not to propose the annexation on July 1, but there is a scenario that he may announce the annexation of two to three settlements during the first half of this month, especially the settlements of Ma’aleh Adumim, Beit El and Sheila, and Gush Etzion, confirming that the settlers are pressuring him to carry out the step.
“Does annexation help Trump’s reelection?”
US President Donald Trump is expected to resolve his decision about the annexation next week.
A senior US official said that July 1 was not a deadline for the White House, as the US looks forward to continuing discussions with Israel about the possible implementation of sovereignty of the West Bank.
The US official told the Israeli Jerusalem Post that the US administration appreciates the ongoing talks and the serious considerations that have entered into its recent discussions with the Israeli government.
Talks between the US and Israel are expected to continue in the coming days over Israeli plans to apply their sovereignty over parts of the West Bank.
It remains unclear whether Netanyahu will seek to apply annexation over 30% of the West Bank (something that was stipulated in the Trump Peace Plan), including all settlements and the Jordan Valley – or a smaller piece of territory.
(reporting by Ahmad Ismail, editing by Lucas Chapman)