Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to annex key areas of the West Bank if he wins Israel’s general election on Tuesday.
Under the Israeli prime minister’s plans the Jordan Valley, the stretch of land along the western bank of the Jordan river that contains several settlements, would formally be declared part of Israel’s territory as early as next week.
It corresponds to roughly one-third of the wider West Bank, the territory that Palestinians claim as part of a future State of Palestine. It was occupied by Israel in 1967.
“Today, I announce my intention, after the establishment of a new government, to apply Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea,” Mr Netanyahu said in a televised speech on Tuesday evening.
He said no move would be made on settlements in other areas of the West Bank until Donald Trump’s peace plan is unveiled.
“Out of respect for President Trump and out of great faith in our friendship, I will wait with applying sovereignty until release of the president's political plan,” Mr Netanyahu said, according to Haaretz.
But the Jordan Valley was “one place where it is possible to apply Israeli sovereignty immediately after the election,” he said, adding: “If I receive a clear mandate to do so from you, the citizens of Israel.”
The White House said US policy had not changed as a result of Mr Netanyahu’s announcement.
“We will release our Vision for Peace after the Israeli election and work to determine the best path forward to bring long sought security, opportunity and stability to the region,” an official told Haaretz.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh criticises the announcement, telling Reuters that Mr Netanyahu is “a prime destroyer of the peace process.”
