Israel’s Netanyahu promises to annex all settlements in Palestine ‘without exception’

With his election campaign hoping to rally together the most extremes of Israeli society, Netanyahu’s claims that the illegal expansion of settlements in the West Bank will go ahead is worrying not only for the Palestinians who live there, but for all who are working towards a two-state solution in the region.

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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has on Tuesday promised to annex all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank in Palestine. Making these claims while officially launching his election campaign, Netanyahu made these remarks alongside similar statements by his main election rival, Benny Gantz, who promised to annex the entire Jordan Valley region of the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu promised reporters that if elected, his government would “immediately” establish Israeli control over the entire West Bank settlements “without exception”. This comes amidst growing concern that Netanyahu and his government are continuing with impunity when it comes to the building of settlements in occupied Palestine.

Deemed illegal by the ICC and international law, Netanyahu’s government continues to give the green light in the construction of settlements – in 2019 alone 8,337 housing units in settlements had been approved, a 50% increase in comparison to 2018. This not only establishes Israel’s colonial and apartheid regime deep into occupied Palestinian territory, but it also set precedence for how Israel moves with impunity when it comes to international law and human rights treaties.

With his election campaign hoping to rally together the most extremes of Israeli society, Netanyahu’s claims that the illegal expansion of settlements in the West Bank will go ahead is worrying not only for the Palestinians who live there, but for all who are working towards a two-state solution in the region. Israel’s colonial expansion into Palestine will destroy historic lands, cultural ties, and people’s lives.

In 2019 alone Israel killed almost three Palestinians a day, with almost 800 Palestinian children and minors arrested during the year. Reports of torture, maltreatment, and illegal detentions are commonplace in Israeli jails. As Israel continues to deny Palestinians their most basic human rights, it remains to be seen for how long the world will continue to stay silent in one of the longest running crises of the region in modern history.