Israel to annex the West Bank, claims settlers’ leader

[Falcon29]

Israel to annex the West Bank, claims settlers’ leader

The leader of Israel’s illegal Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank has revealed the existence of a bill in the Knesset which proposes the annexation of the settlements across the territory, Maarivreported on Sunday.

According to Shelah Edler – a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party – he has pledges from ministers and MKs, as well as the leaders of the Jewish Home Party, to approve the annexation of the West Bank. He said that this bill would be a priority for the right-wing parties in the Israeli parliament.

Maariv said that Edler’s proposal was hailed by Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Rabbi Eli Bin Dahan, a senior figure in Jewish Home. “Annexing Judea and Samaria [the settlers’ name for the West Bank] is the issue of this time,” said Bin Dahan during a celebration in occupied Hebron on Thursday. “The regional and international conditions are the most appropriate for it.”

Senior officials, claimed Maariv, including Education Minister Naftali Bennet, suggest a gradual annexation of the West Bank, starting with Area C, which covers 60 per cent of the occupied territory’s land. “Area C includes 400,000 Jews and 70,000 Arabs,” Bennet said. “We will give the choice for the Arabs either to choose Israeli citizenship or the right to remain [under Israeli control].”
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Israel to annex the West Bank, claims settlers’ leader – Middle East Monitor
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So now Palestinians in Palestinian territory are referred to as stateless 'Arabs'?

 

[Lieutenant]

That will be a suicidal step. I have noticed Israel is escalating the situation in Palestine taking advantage of what is happening in Syria.

 

[Kai]

This would be incredibly stupid. I doubt that the US would still support Israel after a hypothetical annexation of the WB. There is already an international boycott movement that is gaining ground internationally, trying to emulate the South African model, and Israel's annexation of the West Bank without giving people citizenship will erase any doubt about the veracity of the accusations frequently made against the state of Israel by the movement. It cannot give people there citizenship because this will upset the delicate demographic balance it wishes to maintain, and it cannot displace people already living there. Every way you look at this, if they actually go through with it, this is a terrible decision, not only for Israelis of course but for the conflict as a whole.