Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will continue to discuss a possible annexation of parts of the West Bank with the US administration, his office said in a statement Wednesday, the target day the premier had set to begin the contentious process.
At the same time, Netanyahu convened top Israeli security brass, including National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat on Wednesday, to discuss the issue, the statement said.
“In the coming days there will be additional discussions,” it added.
The statement came amid uncertainty over whether Israel will ultimately follow through on the explosive annexation initiative, which has drawn fierce condemnations from some of Israel’s closest allies.
Earlier, Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services Minister Ofir Akunis confirmed to Army Radio that the annexation process would not begin on Wednesday, saying that officials were still working out the final details with their American counterparts. He said he expected the annexation to take place later in July.
“Coordination with the American administration is not something that can be dismissed,” said Akunis who under the unity government deal is expected to become minister for regional cooperation at the end of the year.
Netanyahu had aimed to start the process by July 1, saying he wanted to begin annexing West Bank territory in line with US President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan. The plan, unveiled in January, envisions bringing some 30 percent of the territory — covering all 132 settlements, home to 450,000 Israelis, and the strategic Jordan Valley — under permanent Israeli control, while conditionally giving the Palestinians statehood in the remaining West Bank land and additional territory inside Israel.
But Netanyahu’s unilateral annexation project has come under stiff international criticism. The United Nations, European Union and key Arab countries have all said Israel’s annexation would violate international law and undermine the already diminished prospects of establishing a viable independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Even close allies, like Britain, have opposed it.
The Hamas terror group fired a volley of rockets into the sea early Wednesday in a warning to Israel not to annex parts of the West Bank, sources in the organization told AFP.
The showcase launch of about 20 test rockets from the coastal Palestinian territory came as thousands of people in Gaza City answered Hamas calls for street protests.
The Haaretz newspaper cited local residents who reported hearing launches taking place.
Last week, the Gaza rulers said that should Israel go ahead with applying its sovereignty over settlements and the Jordan Valley as provided for in the US peace plan, it would amount to a “declaration of war” against Palestinians.
A day later, Palestinians in Gaza fired two rockets at Israel. The rockets fell in open areas and did not cause casualties or damage. One rocket landed in an open area in the Sha’ar Hanegev region, while the second apparently fell within the Strip.
Israel retaliated with strikes on Hamas sites, saying it held the terror group responsible for attacks from Gaza.
Palestinians participated in a “day of rage” in Gaza and the West Bank on Wednesday in protest of Israel’s planned annexation of parts of the West Bank.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions had called for demonstrations Wednesday in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem in response to the anticipated announcement on Wednesday of an Israeli plan to apply its sovereignty to settlements.
No such announcement was made by Israel on Wednesday, and the Palestinian protests remained largely peaceful.
Prime Benjamin Netanyahu had set July 1 as the date when his coalition government can begin implementing US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, which would result in the annexation of all settlements and the Jordan Valley, which constitute about 30 percent of the West Bank.
“The resistance will topple our enemy’s ploy to divide our homeland,” Hamas spokesperson Hazim Qasim said in a statement preceding the protests.
Unlike the Great March of Return protests in 2019, Wednesday’s protests in Gaza did not direct demonstrators towards the border fence with Israel or seek conflict with Israeli forces.
Protesters congregated, instead, in Gaza City, where activists gave speeches and led the assembled crowd of thousands in a “national oath” to the “blood of the martyrs.”
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