Still no consensus with US on West Bank annexations – Israeli minister

Israel is facing difficulties with securing enough support even from the US, its strongest ally, in extending Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank, said Israeli Minister of Settlement Affairs Tzipi Hotovely.

On July 1, a format debate on the issue will start on the cabinet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to manage a consensus with his main coalition partner for his plans to further annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

“There are gaps between the Americans and us on this issue and between us and our senior partner in the unity government, Blue and White," Hotovely told Army Radio on Thursday. 

"There is still no agreed map on this issue. It has to be agreed by parts of the (Israeli) government and by the American side," he said.

Annexation plans 

In just three weeks time, Netanyahu plans to extend Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank.

Netanyahu has been emboldened by the US President's Middle East plan which was released in January and which backed many of his plans. 

Palestinians seek the region, along with Gaza and East Jerusalem, for a state of their own.

They have called for international sanctions against Israel and Arab and European countries have voiced concern over unilateral territorial moves that could jeopardise a two-state solution of a decades-old conflict.

Illegal plan

Germany Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Wednesday warned Israel that its plan to begin annexing parts of the West Bank would violate international law, but he declined to say how Germany or Europe would respond.

The European Union also has made clear that it is opposed to annexation and considers it illegal under international law. 

For now, diplomats are trying to engage Israeli officials and convey the message that unilateral annexation would have negative repercussions on relations. They have not indicated how the EU might respond.

“I made clear that the German government and the colleagues in the EU are very worried that annexation can lead to the two-state solution no longer being viable and that we are on the wrong path,” Maas said.

Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, who heads the European Union's delegation to the Palestinian territories, said that annexation "if it happens, will have consequences for the relationship between Israel and the EU".

He did not spell out what those consequences might entail during a visit with other diplomats to an area of the West Bank where Israel has pledged to apply its sovereignty.

Palestinians have rejected Trump's plan, which envisages statehood, but with Israel keeping most of the settlements it has built on land captured in a 1967 war.

Trump 'peace plan'

Standing with Netanyahu, the US president unveiled his 80-page peace proposal. 

He called it a win-win for both sides, but only Netanyahu was smiling. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the deal belonged in the dustbin of history, and was adamant Jerusalem was not for sale. 

A committee of US and Israeli officials is drawing territorial lines in the occupied West Bank under the Trump proposal.

Israel's settlements on occupied land is illegal under international law.