US ‘Highly Unlikely’ to Back a July 1 Israeli Annexation of the West Bank

Israeli officials believe US wants to greatly slow the process

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set July 1 as his goal date for the annexation of the occupied West Bank. He’s being warned that the US, whose policy was fueling this annexation bid, may no longer back the measure, and the Trump administration is trying to convince Israel to slow the process.

The annexation came out of President Trump’s peace process. Though the Palestinians rejected the plan, Trump insisted there was no reason Israel would have to wait for their agreement to take all the West Bank territory that the Trump plan would’ve given them.

Netanyahu saw this as an opportunity to annex, but is now warning settler leaders that the US position may have softened and they don’t want any hasty moves, particularly right now. There is no sign Netanyahu is backing away, but this might force some timing changes.

A likely reason for these delays will be finalizing the maps for the annexation, as some officials say that the mapping is far from done, and because of Covid-19 they are far behind schedule.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.