Benjamin Netanyahu condemned for settlement annexation pledge
Palestinians say international ‘impunity’ must end for Israel's actions
Palestinian leaders have led a chorus of condemnation after Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu controversially announced he plans to annex settlements in the West Bank if he is re-elected on Tuesday.
Asked on television why he had yet to extend sovereignty to large West Bank settlements, the Israeli prime minister replied: “Who says that we won't do it? We are on the way and we are discussing it.
“You are asking whether we are moving on to the next stage - the answer is yes, we will move to the next stage.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, said Israel will “continue to brazenly violate international law” for as long as “the international community will continue to reward Israel with impunity”.
Erekat, a close aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, pinpointed Donald Trump’s “support and endorsement of Israel's violation of the national and human rights of the people of Palestine”.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Abbas's Palestinian Authority must halt its security cooperation with Israel in the West Bank. Speaking from Gaza, he said: “Netanyahu's dreams of annexing the West Bank will never be achieved and we will not allow that to happen.”
Settlements are regarded as one of the most divisive obstacles on the road to peace in the region. More than 400,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank, according to Israeli figures, among about 2.9m Palestinians.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Many countries consider settlements to be illegal under the Geneva conventions.
Commentators are interpreting Netanyahu’s statement as a bid to capture the right-wing vote ahead of tomorrow’s general election. The BBC’s Arab affairs editor, Sebastian Usher, wrote that the “potentially explosive” comments “will resonate with several parties with which he'll try to form a coalition government if he wins the biggest share of votes”.
Netanyahu is facing “a tight race” for re-election, The Observer says, but “with support from smaller pro-settlement, far-right and ultranationalist parties”, he may have a “better chance of forming a coalition government”.
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke called Netanyahu a “racist” on Sunday.
Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman for Turkish President Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, was one of the first global figures to respond, saying western states must condemn Netanyahu’s words. “Will western democracies react or will they keep appeasing? Shame on them all!” he asked on Sunday.
-
Ukraine: Donald Trump pivots againIn the Spotlight US president apparently warned Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Vladimir Putin’s terms or face destruction during fractious face-to-face
-
The UK-made Storm Shadow missiles Ukraine is using in RussiaThe Explainer Ukraine reportedly deployed the long-range British missiles this week, following a tense meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump
-
Proposed Trump-Putin talks in Budapest on holdSpeed Read Trump apparently has no concrete plans to meet with Putin for Ukraine peace talks
-
What is Donald Trump planning in Latin America?Today’s Big Question US ramps up feud with Colombia over drug trade, while deploying military in the Caribbean to attack ships and increase tensions with Venezuela
-
Gaza’s reconstruction: the steps to rebuildingIn The Spotlight Even the initial rubble clearing in Gaza is likely to be fraught with difficulty and very slow
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
‘Extraordinary asymmetry’: the history of Israeli prisoner swapsIn The Spotlight Exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees is the latest in a series of trades in which Israeli lives appear to count for more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US


