Israel Weighs Annexation of Judea and Samaria as Western Nations Push to Recognize Palestinian State

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s Diplomatic-Security Cabinet was set to meet Sunday evening to review war plans in Gaza, but the more pressing question before ministers is how to respond to growing international moves to recognize a Palestinian state.

According to reports in Axios, Israel Hayom, and Walla News, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering annexing parts of Judea and Samaria (known internationally as the West Bank) as a countermeasure, with options ranging from partial sovereignty in the Jordan Valley to full annexation of Area C — some 60 percent of the territory currently under Israeli control.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer has been quietly advancing a plan limited to the Jordan Valley, arguing it could win bipartisan support in Washington. But settler leaders and several right-wing coalition partners are demanding broader annexation, with some calling for sovereignty over all Jewish settlements and their access roads. “What the Europeans are planning to do started causing more and more people in Israel to say that maybe they should start talking of annexation,” U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said.

The urgency stems from a coordinated effort by Australia, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month. France and Saudi Arabia are also preparing to announce their recognition at a joint conference on the sidelines of the gathering. Nearly 150 countries already recognize Palestinian statehood.

In response, Washington has revoked visas for senior Palestinian Authority officials–including President Mahmoud Abbas–who had planned to attend the UN session. Israeli ministers, meanwhile, are split on whether annexation should be framed as a punishment against Western recognition moves or as an ideologically driven step to formalize Israel’s presence in the region.

Legal experts and European officials have warned that annexation would violate international law, trigger EU sanctions, and damage Israel’s peace treaties with Arab states. Arab governments have already cautioned that the step would derail any prospect of normalization with Saudi Arabia.

The Trump administration’s position remains unclear. “I don’t know how extensive the planned annexation is. I’m not sure there is a common view inside the Israeli government about where it would be and how much,” Huckabee said. Two U.S. officials told Axios it was unlikely President Trump would endorse Israeli annexation plans outright, though some Israeli officials believe he may yet be persuaded as frustration mounts with European governments.

In July, Israel’s Knesset passed a symbolic resolution declaring Judea and Samaria an inseparable part of the state, signaling widespread political support for sovereignty but leaving the timing and scope of any move in Netanyahu’s hands.

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