Leaders of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank are interfering with the research of the US-Israeli annexation committee in the areas that Israel intends to occupy and impose its sovereignty over, according to political sources.
Settlers are trying to expand settlements by occupying more Palestinian lands, with some calling for annexing two industrial areas that were decided to be built in northern West Bank, noting that they are not included on the annexation map as they fall under Palestinian Authority's (PA) sovereignty.
The sources confirmed that the head of the so-called Samaria (Nablus) Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and asked him to intervene to support his position before the committee.
Dagan told the committee that the industrial areas are Zionist too, describing them as an economic engine for the residents of Nablus and all of Israel, stressing that it must be considered in the deal of the century, according to a leader from the settlements.
The US peace plan, referred to as “deal of the century”, stipulates that Israel has control over 30 percent of the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967. It also included large settlement blocs in the West Bank to the borders of Israel, whereas Jerusalem remained united and under Israeli sovereignty.
A US-Israeli committee was established, headed by the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, to demarcate the borders. Since last month, it has been working actively in touring the settlements to study their land needs.
