Settlers argue over Netanyahu’s annexation plan

Annexation, or the act imposing Israeli sovereignty and law on about one-third of the West Bank [Jewish settlements], would be the ultimate fulfilment of a dream for the settlers and the ideological right. Fifty-three years have passed since the 1967 Six-Day War and the founding of the first settlement — Kfar Etzion — which was reestablished after being destroyed during the 1948 War of Independence.

With an especially friendly American president, Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing ahead with his annexation plan. It is expected to be brought before the government for approval July 1, once the precise mapping of the area is completed and after advanced talks with the US administration about all its details. The problem is that during the last few days, there have been some bumps along the road in dealing with the administration. These include differences of opinion regarding the exact mapping of the settlement lands.  

One Israeli official involved in the matter says that some members of the American team are imposing conditions that would make it impossible for isolated settlements to continue to exist. Regardless, the plan is likely to be brought before the government for approval this summer, before the United States holds its presidential election.

But much to everyone’s surprise, there is growing opposition to the plan among the settlers’ leadership. While some leaders have encouraged Netanyahu to embrace the plan as a sign of things to come, others have gone so far as to demand that he reject it out of hand. The main reason that these opponents give is that agreement to the proposal in principle would imply Israeli acceptance of an independent Palestinian state in the rest of the West Bank. While some settlers opposed the plan even before this, it is worth remembering how they greeted the plan with singing and dancing when it was first released. In fact, some settler leaders were in Washington for the event.