Israeli prime minister has not previously presented detailed vision for West Bank, seen by Palestinians as heartland of future stateIsrael’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pledged on Saturday to annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank if re-elected, a dramatic policy shift apparently aimed at rallying his nationalist base in the final stretch of the tight race. Netanyahu has promoted Jewish settlement expansion in his four terms as prime minister, but until now refrained from presenting a detailed vision for the West Bank, seen by the Palestinians as the heartland of a future state. An Israeli annexation of large parts of the West Bank could potentially end any hope for a deal on the terms of a Palestinian state on lands Israel took over in 1967. Netanyahu pledged he would not dismantle a single Jewish settlement and that Israel would retain control of the territory west of the Jordan River. More than 600,000 Israelis now live on war-won lands, two-thirds in the West Bank.

Source: The Guardian April 07, 2019 00:33 UTC