Netanyahu says he will not transfer sovereignty of the West Bank to Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Saturday to annex Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank if he wins Israel's election on Tuesday.

"I am going to extend sovereignty and I don't distinguish between settlement blocs and the isolated settlements," he said during a television interview. "I will not uproot anyone and I will not transfer sovereignty to the Palestinians."

Hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, which Israel captured more than 50 years ago during the Six-Day War. But the occupation, which has pushed the 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank into smaller and smaller enclaves, is considered illegal under international law.

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The Associated Press called the announcement a "dramatic policy shift" — Netanyahu has promoted Jewish settlement expansion in the past, but has refrained from offering specifics on his vision for the West Bank. Netanyahu's rhetoric has been viewed as a way to rally his nationalist base before the polls open in what promises to be a closely contested election. An annexation of the settlements would likely make any sort of peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians much more difficult.