LAST-DITCH MOVE

Netanyahu Announces Post-Election Plan to Annex Part of Occupied West Bank

Some called the move a last-ditch attempt to persuade voters to re-elect the Israeli prime minister in next week’s general election.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he plans to annex the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank, “in coordination” with the United States, if he wins the country’s unprecedented repeat election next week. Netanyahu called the contentious move a “historic opportunity to apply sovereignty to communities in Judea and Samaria,” referring to the West Bank in a meeting with reporters in Jerusalem. “I request a mandate to apply Jewish sovereignty to all communities and I intend to do so in coordination with the United States,” said Netanyahu, noting that such action would not be taken before the announcement of President Donald Trump’s long-awaited U.S. peace plan for the region. Some called the move a last-ditch attempt to persuade voters to re-elect the Israeli prime minister in next week’s general election.