Israel delays West Bank annexation
A confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the Israeli leader’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank would not start on Wednesday, the original target date, as the British prime minister made an extraordinary appeal to Israel to call off the plan.
The developments cast further uncertainty over whether Israel will ultimately follow through on the explosive annexation initiative, which has drawn fierce international condemnations from some of Israel’s closest allies.
Speaking on Israel’s Army Radio station, cabinet minister Ofir Akunis confirmed that the annexation process would not begin on Wednesday, saying that officials were still working out the final details with their U.S. counterparts. He said he expected the annexation to take place later in July. “Co-ordination with the American administration is not something that can be dismissed,” he said.
Netanyahu had aimed to start the process by Wednesday, saying he wants to begin annexing West Bank territory in line with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan.
The plan, unveiled in January, envisions bringing some 30 per cent of the territory under permanent Israeli control, while giving the Palestinians limited autonomy in carved-up pockets of the remaining land.
But the plan has come under stiff international criticism. The United Nations, the European Union and key Arab countries have all said Israel’s annexation would violate international law and undermine the already diminished prospects of establishing a viable independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Even close allies, like Britain, have opposed it.
In a front-page article in the Yediot Ahronot daily, one of Israel’s largest newspapers, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote that as a “passionate defender of Israel,” he was particularly troubled by its intentions. He noted his long links to Israel, dating back to when volunteered on a kibbutz as an 18year-old and his “many visits” since then.
“As a lifelong friend, admirer and supporter of Israel, I am fearful that these proposals will fail in their objective of securing Israel’s borders and will be contrary to Israel’s own long-term interests,” Johnson wrote, adding that annexation “would put in jeopardy” the gains Israel has made in recent years in improving relations with the Arab world.
Several thousand Palestinians marched in Gaza City for a “day of rage” on Wednesday to protest the annexation plans, one of several demonstrations that were expected in Palestinian areas. The protesters waved Palestinian flags and held signs calling the plan a “declaration of war” on the Palestinian people.
The rally ended peacefully by the early afternoon.