An Israeli consensus to annex settlements and valleys, and a difference in timing

Mohamed Mohsen Wedd - occupied Jerusalem

At a time when the various Jewish parties met on the importance of the Jordan Valley region and the settlement project as a strategic depth for the State of Israel, and agreed on the necessity of imposing Israeli sovereignty on parts of the West Bank, these parties seemed different about the timing of the annexation between before and after the Knesset elections.

Despite the difference in timing, the various Jewish parties rushed to use the annexation of the settlements, the Jordan Valley, and parts of the occupied West Bank to their election campaigns and programs, on the eve of the March 2 Knesset elections, knowing that the annexation proposal was confined to the far right and the Likud party .

This Israeli consensus excludes the "Zionist Left" camp, where its electoral strength is limited to nine seats, and its leaders oppose any unilateral steps by the Israeli government, and suggests that the imposition of sovereignty and annexation of settlement blocs through negotiations and a political settlement with the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed the cabinet session scheduled for Sunday to endorse the US peace plan, in the wake of opposition by far-right parties to the "deal of the century" and statements by Jared Kushner, adviser and son-in-law of the President, that there will be no immediate annexation, and this must be with American consensus Israeli.

Sovereignty and annexation
Faced with the US veto and pressure on Israel not to take unilateral steps before the Knesset elections, Netanyahu found himself in a deadlock in front of his constituency.

Therefore, the ruling Likud party seeks to ratify the American peace plan in full, and not only on items that serve the interests of Israel, in an attempt to cancel the opposition that Washington is showing about imposing Israeli sovereignty and annexing the Jordan Valley and settlements before the parliamentary elections.

The Likud aims to compete with the "Blue and White" coalition led by Benny Gantz, who declared his total acceptance of the American peace plan, and considered it the cornerstone of any future negotiations with the Palestinians.

Gantz - who announced that any annexation plan must be compatible with the Palestinian Authority - intends to put forward the "deal of the century" for approval in the Knesset before the elections, while the Likud will settle for introducing the clause imposing Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank.

But official Israeli television suggested that the main obstacles faced by the Likud are the internal reservation of some of the party’s poles, and the strong opposition of the far-right parties to the “Deal of the Century”, claiming that it includes a clause establishing a demilitarized Palestinian state, as these parties are considered a primary axis in The "Right" bloc supporting Netanyahu and his partner in the transitional government.

Pledges and pressure
During his tenure and just before the elections, Netanyahu pledged repeatedly to annex settlements, the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea to Israeli sovereignty, and he repeated his pledge during the announcement with Trump of the American peace plan, but Kushner's comments put him in an electoral deadlock.

In an attempt by Netanyahu to break out of this impasse and use the American peace plan to boost his popularity and raise the shares and seats of the Likud party, he is considering the possibility of ratifying - in the cabinet session next week - the plan to annex settlements only, without the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea before the Knesset elections, in line with the administration. The American does not contradict Kushner's statements.

In addition to Kushner's comments, the far-right parties - which the prime minister is counting on to form the next government coalition - are pressuring Netanyahu to formally announce the annexation of settlements and valleys before the elections, as Netanyahu expresses his fears that Washington will allow annexation only after the elections, as an alliance insists "Blue and White" is the candidate to form the next government, according to the newspaper "Yediot Aharonot".

Netanyahu and right
The coalition of right-wing parties led by Defense Minister Naftali Bennett - who has expressed opposition to the "Deal of the Century" - is pushing before the elections to announce sovereignty over the settlements, and the coalition has urged Netanyahu to put the annexation plan on the government's agenda as soon as possible, so that it can be ratified and implemented. .

On the other hand, the Minister of Communications seemed to be clearer Smotrich more clearly, as he confirmed that he would oppose the "deal of the century" in the event that it was put to a vote by the government or the Knesset General Authority.

For his part, David Lahiani, head of the Council of Settlements, "Yesha", criticized the leaders of the Israeli parties, and called on them to announce the immediate announcement of the annexation of settlements and valleys to Israeli sovereignty, claiming that the US administration through the "deal of the century" misleading the settlers.

"I was very wrong. I was in Washington, we sat down with high-level leaders in the White House and close to Trump, and they told us in one letter: If the Palestinian Authority refuses to join the peace plan, it is possible to impose Israeli sovereignty," state-run Israel Radio reported. ".

According to the head of the Council of Settlements, facts on the ground indicate that there is no Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank, and without the approval of the Americans, Netanyahu cannot annex a single millimeter, and therefore he says to Hayani, "The deal of the century must be thrown in the garbage basket, as it poses an existential threat to Israel as a country." Jewish".

Support and reservation
In turn, Avigdor Lieberman, head of the "Israel Our Home" party, expresses his consent to annexation and the imposition of sovereignty, but he strongly opposes the implementation of the "deal of the century" before the Knesset elections, and made it clear that his party supports the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank even before the elections, while stressing that he would vote against any plan It will be put forward by Netanyahu, which stipulates the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state.

The same position was expressed by the head of the Shas movement, Aryeh Deri, who confirmed that the Haredi parties - supportive and traditional ally of Netanyahu - support the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank and annexation of the Jordan Valley and settlements, and confirmed that they would vote alongside the American peace plan if it was included to endorse the government table before The elections, while not expressing reservations about the proposal to establish a demilitarized Palestinian state.