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Report: Netanyahu to resume annexation bid after Trump takes office

Israeli prime minister reportedly backing calls from senior government ministers pushing to apply sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria once Donald Trump returns to office.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning on moving forward with plans to apply Israeli sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria, according to a report Tuesday.

Kan Reshet Bet reported Tuesday morning that Netanyahu has privately reassured senior government ministers that his sovereignty plans, shelved since President Joe Biden’s win in 2020, would be placed back on the agenda after Trump returns to office.

During the first Trump administration, Netanyahu proposed to extend Israeli sovereignty over large swaths of Judea and Samaria, beginning with the Jordan Valley and, in its later stages, expanding to include all Israeli towns in the area.

“I intend to extend sovereignty on all the settlements and settlement blocs,” Netanyahu said on the eve of the September 17th, 2019 elections.

The plans were incorporated into President Donald Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan, better known as the “Deal of the Century,” under which Israel would apply sovereignty to large sections of Area C in Judea and Samaria, spanning all areas of Israeli settlement.

In exchange, Israel would agree to the broader peace deal, which would endorse the establishment of a Palestinian state in parts of Judea, Samaria, all of the Gaza Strip, and several enclaves in the Israeli Negev.

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Following the Hamas invasion of October 7th, some members of Netanyahu’s coalition government have called for the annexation of the Gaza Strip, as well as Judea and Samaria.

Calls for applying Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria were voiced again following Donald Trump’s electoral win on November 5th.

“Now this is the time for sovereignty, this is the time for total victory,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) said in an address to the Knesset plenum last Wednesday.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) declared in a press conference Monday that 2025 will “be the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”

“I gave instructions to the settlement administration in the Ministry of Defense and to the Civil Administration to begin comprehensive professional staff work to prepare the necessary infrastructure for the application of sovereignty.”

“Subsequently, I intend to lead a government decision stating that the Government of Israel will act with the new administration of President Trump and the international community to apply sovereignty and seek American recognition.”

Israel Ganz, chairman of the Yesha Council – which represents all Israeli towns across Judea and Samaria – and mayor of the Binyamin Regional Council, took to X/Twitter to call for annexing Judea and Samaria following Trump’s victory.

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“Time for sovereignty! One strong Trump. One Jewish state.”