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Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - TEL AVIV — Israel has taken a series of sweeping steps to tighten its grip on the occupied West Bank ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.
President Donald Trump will host Netanyahu at the White House on Wednesday, as tensions continue to rise across the Middle East and negotiations intensify over curbing Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Netanyahu is expected to press Trump to pursue a deal that would not only halt Iran's uranium enrichment, but also cut its ballistic missile programme and support for proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
"I will present to the president our outlook regarding the principles of these negotiations," he said before leaving for the US.
Iran has suggested it is ready to limit its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief, but it has rejected the other demands.
On Sunday, Israel’s security cabinet approved measures that expand the country’s enforcement powers and allow the state to buy land for the expansion of settlements in a way that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said would “fundamentally change the legal and civil reality” in the West Bank.
The Israeli steps include expanding Israeli enforcement in Areas A and B of the West Bank, which were designated under the Oslo Accords as areas that fall under Palestinian administrative control. The two areas together make up approximately 40% of the territory.
Israel will also restart its Land Acquisition Committee, which allows the state to proactively purchase lands in the West Bank for the expansion of settlements.
The security cabinet also approved measures that will make it easier for settlers to purchase land in the occupied West Bank, a move designed to expand settlement activity and entrench the Jewish population.
Smotrich, who has openly boasted of his efforts to kill the idea of a Palestinian state, said in a statement, “We are normalizing life in the territories, removing bureaucratic barriers, fighting for the land, and deepening our presence throughout the Land of Israel.”
In response to the latest steps, a Trump administration official emphasized that the US does not support Israeli annexation of the occupied territory. “As the President has clearly stated, he does not support Israel annexing the West Bank,” the official said.
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“A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve piece in the region.”
The Palestinian Authority (PA) condemned the latest measures, calling them “a continuation of the comprehensive war waged by the occupation government against the Palestinian people and an unprecedented escalation targeting the Palestinian presence and its national and historical rights across all Palestinian land.”
In a statement, the presidency of the PA said it amounts to “the practical implementation of annexation and displacement plans.”
Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, said in a statement the decisions taken by Israel “confirm its colonial program aimed at swallowing all Palestinian land and displacing its indigenous people.”
Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 war and subsequently began establishing Jewish settlements there, which are considered illegal under international law, the United Nations and by much of the international community. The UN also regards the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territory, which the Palestinians seek for a future state.
In an interview with Time Magazine in October, Trump said he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. “It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries,” he said. “Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”
The Trump administration’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan also speaks of a pathway to “Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
But Israel has pursued a policy that critics equate to de facto annexation, expanding Jewish settlements in the occupied territory and deepening the country’s grip on the West Bank with the declared intent of making a Palestinian state impossible.
In response to the latest measures, the anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now said, “Netanyahu promised to dismantle Hamas in Gaza, but in practice he chose to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, annul agreements Israel itself signed, and impose de facto annexation – in complete contradiction to the will of the people, Israel’s national interest, and the clear position of President Trump.” — Agencies
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