Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the ins and outs of the government’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank in an interview published today in the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom. 

Netanyahu said that there will only be a Palestinian state if Palestinians agree to Israeli security control, and that Palestinians in to-be annexed areas will not receive Israeli citizenship. 

“They need to acknowledge that we control security in all areas. If they consent to all this, then they will have an entity of their own that President [Donald] Trump defines as a state,” Netanyahu told Israel Hayom. 

The interview offered a glimpse into the new joint government’s annexation plans, which are set to be dealt with by the Knesset in July ahead of the US presidential election. Israel intends to extend sovereignty over Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which is internationally recognized as a Palestinian territory. The move has been met with significant opposition from both the international community and Palestinians, who want the area to be part of a future independent state of Palestine and consider Israel an occupying power there.