Israel is entitled to at least part of the West Bank, U.S. ambassador says

David M. Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel told The New York Times that Israel has a right to annex at least some, but "unlikely all," of the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to begin annexing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which would violate international law and could serve as a blow to any prospect of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Much of the world considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal, the Times reports, and many critics fear that annexation would foment violence and require military occupation of urban areas of Palestine for the first time in decades. But, in the past, Friedman criticized the Obama administration for allowing the United Nations to pass a 2016 resolution which condemned the Israeli settlements.

Friedman did not say how the U.S. would respond if Israel did decided to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank, adding that he does not want to "prejudge" such a situation. "We really don't have a view until we understand how much, on what terms, why does it make sense, why is it good for Israel, why is it good for the region, why does it not create more problems than it solves," he said. In the interview, Friedman also spoke about the Trump administration's peace plan, the first phase of which appears to be tied to economic development in Palestine. Read more at The New York Times.

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