Netanyahu renews vow to annex Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed there will be 'no more displacements' of settlers on Palestinian land, reaffirming his pledge to annex West Bank settlements.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

01 September, 2019

Binyamin Netanyahu is facing repeat elections in just over two weeks [Getty]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed his controversial pledge to impose Israeli sovereignty on West Bank settlements.

Speaking on Sunday at a ceremony opening the new school year in the settlement of Elkana, Netanyahu said there "will be no more displacements" and all the communities will be "part of the state of Israel."

Such a move would be a sharp departure from long-standing Israeli government policy. Netanyahu made a similar pledge to begin annexing part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank on the eve of April elections this year but did not act on it.

More than 600,000 Israelis live on occupied Palestinian territory, two-thirds of them in the West Bank.

With just over two weeks to go to repeat elections, Netanyahu looks to be seeking to shore up his right-wing base again.

In the run up to the polls the Israeli leader has also stiffened his rhetoric towards Israel's rivals, including by threatening a large-scale assault on the besieged Gaza Strip and engaging in a war of words with Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The Lebanese Shia political movement accused Israel of being behind a drone attack on it's Beirut stronghold last week and threatened retaliation.

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