Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented his new "unity government" to the Knesset on Sunday, pledging to annex West Bank settlements and impose Israeli sovereignty over them. 

"The people wanted unity and this was achieved," Netanyahu told the Knesset, noting a desire to avoid a fourth vote after three inconclusive rounds since April 2019.

Netanyahu and Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz agreed to form a unity government in which they share power. Under this agreement, Netanyahu takes over the government for 18 months, and then Gantz steps down and takes office for a similar term. 

The move ends a political deadlock that has lasted for more than a year, while Netanyahu prepares to appear in court within a week to face charges of corruption.

The new government will include between 34 and 36 ministers representing the various political spectrums, from the left-wing Labor Party and from the "blue-and-white" centrist coalition, Likud and hard-line Jewish parties.

While presenting his cabinet, Netanyahu pledged to press ahead with a plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

On Sunday, Netanyahu stressed that the new government should work to implement Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements. "It is time to implement Israeli law and write another chapter in the history of Zionism," he said.

According to the deal signed between the two sides of the government, Netanyahu can start annexing settlements from July 1, amid the blessing of US President Donald Trump. 

Regional and international crisis
But the new government may face a regional and international crisis weeks after its formation, due to the move to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinians categorically reject the move. It is expected that this step, if implemented on the ground, will receive an international outcry and threatening to fuel tension in the West Bank, which has witnessed a recent escalation between the two sides.

More than 450,000 Israelis live on Palestinian land in a hundred settlements in the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

The number of settlers in the West Bank increased by 50% during the past decade during the Netanyahu era, and the settlements are illegal under international law.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian President threatened to cancel the agreements signed with Israel and the United States. 

Jordan warned of the danger of the Israeli plan, and the Jordanian King Abdullah II confirmed in a meeting with the German magazine "Der Spiegel" this weekend that the annexation would lead to a wide conflict. 

"If Israel actually annexed the West Bank in July, this would lead to a widespread conflict with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan," he said.

For his part, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell indicated on Friday that the move would exhaust "all our diplomatic capabilities" in an attempt to discourage the next Israeli government from moving forward with its plan.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said it is clear that "the annexation is not compatible with international law."

An internal reservation and
the military leaders in Israel, including the Minister of Defense in the next government, Benny Gantz, and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, express their reservations about the move, which they believe will cause regional instability.

In his speech to parliament on Sunday, Gantz did not mention the annexation step, saying, "I and my friends chose unity in order to defend Israeli citizens, not only in front of challenges from the outside, but from the hatred that eats us from the inside and harms our steadfastness."

Netanyahu is the longest-serving arbiter of Israeli Prime Minister, taking power for the first time in 1996 and holding it in succession for three consecutive terms since 2009.

Netanyahu, 70, will be tried on May 24 on charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud, charges that all deny.