West Bank move put off, Israel to review legalities
JERUSALEM — Israel has postponed a move to annex large parts of the West Bank, a government minister said Wednesday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to quickly act on the Trump administration’s Mideast plan despite Palestinian opposition.
Netanyahu had said the Cabinet would vote Sunday on extending Israeli sovereignty to dozens of Jewish settlements as well as the Jordan Valley, a move that risks provoking a harsh backlash from the Palestinians and the international community.
But he appears to have put annexation on hold to explore the legal ramifications and to coordinate it with the United States.
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin told Israel Radio that a Cabinet vote on annexing territories on Sunday was not technically feasible because of various preparations, including the need to consult Israel’s attorney general. Israel has not had a permanent government in a year, following two inconclusive elections, and it’s unclear if a caretaker government can embark on such a move.
David Friedman, the American ambassador to Israel, told reporters that a joint U.S.-Israeli committee would need to ensure that the extension of Israeli sovereignty matches up with a “conceptual map” released by the administration showing the borders of a future Palestinian state.
“It is a process that does require some effort, some understanding, some calibration,” he said. “I’m not going to speculate how long that will take. The president did use the word ‘immediately.’”
The Palestinians rejected the Trump plan which, while allowing Israel to annex all its settlements in the West Bank, gives the Palestinians limited self-rule over the Gaza Strip, chunks of the West Bank and other far-flung areas linked together by roads, bridges and tunnels. It also grants Israel virtually all of east Jerusalem, including the Old City and holy sites.
The Palestinians view the settlements in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem — territories seized by Israel in the 1967 war — as a major obstacle to peace. That position is held by much of the international community, which views the settlements as illegal.
Netanyahu was flying from Washington to Moscow, where he is scheduled to brief President Vladimir Putin about the Trump plan. He is expected to return to Israel with a young Israeli woman who was jailed in Russia on drug charges, after Putin pardoned her. The case had attracted widespread attention in Israel, and the pardon could give Netanyahu an electoral boost.
The plan’s implementation could be delayed until Israel forms a permanent government, something that has eluded its fractious political parties for the last year. Benny Gantz, a former army chief and the leading contender to replace Netanyahu, also met with Trump over the weekend and has welcomed Trump’s proposal.
Gantz announced late Wednesday that he would bring the Trump initiative before parliament for approval next week.
But while Israelis have hailed the plan, the international response has ranged from tepid shows of support to outright hostility. Trump hopes to rally Arab support and says “many, many” countries “want this to happen,” without naming them.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Arab states that are key U.S. allies, said they appreciated the administration’s efforts and called on Israel and the Palestinians to resume direct talks.
The head of the Arab League said Wednesday that an initial study of the plan’s 50-page political framework showed that it “ignored legitimate Palestinian rights in the territories.”
Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said the Palestinian response would be key in shaping a “collective Arab position” on the plan, which he noted was a “non-binding U.S. vision.” The Arab League plans to hold an urgent meeting Saturday to discuss the proposal.