Israel ready to discuss annexation of the West Bank

Israel will retain control of the security issues in the West Bank but a political decision on its annexation is still a subject of discussion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

"The one thing that we will always insist upon is that the sovereign power of security from the Jordan River <…> to the Mediterranean Sea <…>, that will always be in Israel's hands. And that means that Israel will control its destiny, continue to protect its security for our sake and for others as well.," Benjamin Netanyahu said.

However, according to the Israeli PM, the issue of the political annexation of the West Bank is still subject to discussion.

The Knesset (Israel’s parliament) on October 22 passed the preliminary reading of two bills on applying Israeli sovereignty to two settlements in the West Bank. On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with the Time that Washington would not tolerate Israel’s potential annexation of the West bank and warned Israel that it would lose the U.S. support if it did this.

On July 23, the Knesset passed a declaration calling on the government to extend the country’s sovereignty over the West Bank. As many as 71 out of 120 lawmakers voted in favor of the declaration, while 13 abstained.