Israeli Minister of Settlements and National Missions Orit Strock has said she’s working to ensure Israel can annex as much land in the West Bank as possible during the incoming Trump administration but said the Palestinians that live there don’t have rights to the land and shouldn’t have the right to vote.
“My office is working at full throttle to ensure that if sovereignty [annexation] is applied, it will cover the maximum area possible,” Strook told the Israeli media, according to Middle East Eye.
When asked what will happen to the Palestinians who live in the occupied territory, Strock said, “All people have human rights, though the national right over the land belongs solely to the people of Israel. They can stay here, as human beings, of course, and to be a Jewish state, we should grant them full human rights, in my view.”
When asked to clarify what rights the Palestinians would have, she said, “national rights over this land belong only to the Jewish people. I think a model needs to be found, but they shouldn’t be able to vote for the Knesset [Israeli parliament], right?”
The Times of Israel reported this week that Trump aides have cautioned Israeli ministers in recent months not to assume the president-elect will back Israel supporting the West Bank. However, Trump’s appointment of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel signals the administration will back annexation.
Huckabee is an Evangelical Christian who believes God gave historic Palestine to the modern state of Israel. He denies Israel is occupying the West Bank, which he called “Judea and Samaria,” and has previously claimed that there’s “no such thing as a Palestinian” and argued the Palestinians should be expelled to other Arab states.
In Huckabee’s first interview with Israeli media after Trump announced he would be the envoy to Israel, the former governor was asked if the administration would support annexation of the West Bank. He said, “Of course … There has never been an American president that has been more helpful in securing an understanding of the sovereignty of Israel… and I fully expect that will continue.”
