Judea, Samaria leaders protest against Netanyahu, demand immediate annexation

The U.S. handed Israel the opportunity to annex the settlements and then took it away, said Samaria Council leader Yossi Dagan.

By World Israel News Staff

Leaders of the councils representing Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley rallied in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem on Tuesday, in protest over the prime minister’s reluctance to apply swift sovereignty over settlements in Judea and Samaria.

“I call on Netanyahu to fulfill his promise to announce the application of sovereignty. He has political support, he has support inside the party,” Jordan Valley Regional Council leader David Elhani said.

According to Samaria Council leader Yossi Dagan, the U.S. handed Israel the opportunity to annex the settlements and then took it away.

“Officials in the U.S. took our beloved Prime Minister, elevated him to the top of the Empire State Building – [he stood] with the US president [and promised to apply] sovereignty – then they try to throw our Prime Minister all the way down,” Dagan told Arutz Sheva.

On Monday, dozens of Israeli settlers on tractors crisscrossed together across Judea and Samaria in a protest demanding the immediate annexation of the Jordan Valley, reports France 24.

According to the report, the tractors bore Israeli flags and banners with the words “we make history, we impose sovereignty,” and some protesters wore white T-shirts that read “annexation now.”

“After 52 years of waiting, it’s time to annex the Jordan Valley,” said David Elhayani, president of the Yesha Council representing Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, as quoted by the news agency.

Immediately following the release of the “Deal of the Century” last week, Netanyahu sought to swiftly move towards annexing the settlements in Judea and Samaria.

However, the Trump administration is pressuring Netanyahu to hold off at least until the March 2 election.

In order to appease his right-wing base before the election, Netanyahu is trying to gain support to annex some part of Judea and Samaria as a “symbolic move.”