An Israeli channel said, on Wednesday evening, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented to Defense Minister Benny Gantz four different scenarios for annexing settlements, starting from annexing 30% of the West Bank to a symbolic step, amid Palestinian, Arab and international rejection of the upcoming Israeli move.

This was according to what private channel 13 reported, according to an (unnamed) official, who was familiar with the details of the meeting.

Netanyahu, who heads the Likud party and Speaker of the Knesset (Parliament) Yariv Levin from the same party, met on Wednesday evening with Gantz, the head of the "blue-white" party, and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi (blue-white) to discuss the annexation scheme.

The source did not explain the details of the four scenarios, but he only said that it starts from annexing 30% of the West Bank to a symbolic annexation step. He said that during the meeting, Netanyahu did not reveal which of the scenarios he presented on the maps he wanted to implement.

Gantz and Ashkenazi expressed their insistence that "the implementation of any annexation step must be part of a broad political process in which the Palestinians will receive a return, and not as an Israeli unilateral move," according to the same source.

The Israeli official said that the meeting ended without making a decision or little progress on the understanding on the issue of annexation, pointing out that other meetings will be held between Netanyahu and Gantz in the coming days.

Annexation details

On Wednesday, the newspaper "Israel Today", which is close to Netanyahu, said that the latter is considering implementing the annexation in two phases, the first of which includes isolated settlements, then the Jordan Valley and the major settlement blocs.

She explained that Netanyahu is looking to annex 10% of the West Bank lands in the first stage, while the second stage includes the annexation of the rest of the settlements, including the Jordan Valley, which represents 20% of the West Bank.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office has not formally commented on this report, nor has there been any immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority.

Netanyahu announced in the past weeks his intention to start the annexation process on the first of next July, but many obstacles appeared in his way, including international criticism and the failure to reach an agreement within the government on the plan, as well as not to reach an Israeli-American agreement on Annexation maps.

Arab and international rejection

Netanyahu's pledge to annex the settlements has sparked Palestinian anger and strong disapproval from Arab and European countries, and Israeli officials say Washington has not yet agreed to this move.

A member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Wasel Abu Yousef, stated that the possibility of annexing the settlements in two stages does not make a difference.

He added that Netanyahu is trying to confuse the international position rejecting annexation, and that the world will not be fooled by such a proposal.

The newspaper "Israel Today" said that Netanyahu does not expect a strong retaliatory response from Europe over the annexation of settlements, despite its strong opposition, and that this is not expected to seriously harm Israel’s relations with the Arab world.

She added, however, that he hoped to show Israel's interest in international criticism by reducing the annexation process in the beginning.

The newspaper attributed its report to sources that had discussions with Netanyahu in the past few days, but did not specify her identity. Netanyahu's office declined to comment.