Israel weighs annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria amid European push to recognize Palestine

Australia, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom are preparing to formally recognize Palestine during the UN General Assembly in late September.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The Israeli government is actively debating whether to annex parts of Judea and Samaria in response to the expected recognition of a Palestinian state by several Western countries, according to Israeli, U.S., and European officials with direct knowledge of the discussions.

Australia, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom are preparing to formally recognize Palestine during the UN General Assembly in late September, joining nearly 150 states that already do. Israel and the United States are working to deter such moves, with Washington announcing it will deny visas to senior Palestinian Authority officials seeking to attend the session in New York, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Behind the scenes, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar have conveyed to European counterparts that annexation is a possible retaliatory measure.

One European official said Dermer even told advisers to French President Emmanuel Macron that Israel could move to annex all of Area C, the 60 percent of Judea and Samaria under full Israeli control.

Other options under consideration include annexing only Jewish settlements and access roads, roughly 10 percent of the territory, or extending sovereignty to the settlements together with the Jordan Valley, about 30 percent overall.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting last week to examine possible responses, and his security cabinet was expected to continue the discussion Sunday. Several of his coalition partners, along with settler representatives in the Knesset, are pressing for swift annexation.

Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the Trump administration has not taken a clear position. “I don’t know how extensive the planned annexation is,” he said. “I’m not sure there is a common view inside the Israeli government about where it would be and how much.”

Legal experts warn such a step would violate international law and could expose Israel to sanctions from the European Union and its member states. Arab governments have also cautioned that annexation could damage existing peace agreements and further freeze the prospect of normalization with Saudi Arabia.

Israel’s next move may depend heavily on whether President Trump decides to block annexation, as he did twice during his first term.