Israel will not miss a 'historic opportunity' to extend its sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday, calling the move one of his new government's top tasks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement before entering the district court room where he is facing a trial for alleged corruption crimes, in Jerusalem May 24 2020. Yonatan Sindel/Pool via REUTERS
Palestinians consider such a step as illegal annexation of occupied land they seek for a future state. Last week, they declared an end to security cooperation with Israel and its ally, the United States, in protest at the territorial plan. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called the matter complex and said it required coordination with Washington. Netanyahu’s new political partner, centrist Benny Gantz, has been equivocal about de facto annexation.
“We have a historic opportunity, which hasn’t existed since 1948, to apply sovereignty judiciously as a diplomatic...step in Judea and Samaria,” he said, referring to the year of Israel’s birth and using the biblical names for the West Bank.
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