Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has backed legislation that would in effect annex settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories that are home to between 125,000 and 150,000 Jewish people.
In comments made at a meeting of his Likud party at the large settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, Netanyahu said he would support the “Greater Jerusalem” bill. The bill, pushed by rightwing MPs, would annex 19 settlements around Jerusalem, placing them within the city’s municipal boundaries.
The legislation, drawn up by Yisrael Katz, a member of Likud and minister in Netanyahu’s coalition, is expected to be introduced in the winter session of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
Ma’ale Adumim is a settlement of roughly 40,000 people just east of Jerusalem. It is considered strategic because it lies in the centre of the West Bank, and making it part of Israel could greatly hinder Palestinian statehood aspirations.
“Ma’ale Adumim will always be part of Israel and in addition I support the Greater Jerusalem bill,” Netanyahu said during the meeting. He added that he was considering including Ma’ale Adumim within the same plan.
“I am also weighing placing Ma’ale Adumim within the boundaries of Greater Jerusalem within the context of the Greater Jerusalem bill,” he said.
“We will build thousands of housing units here,” he said. “We will add the industrial zone needed and the expansion needed to allow for the advanced development of this place … This place will be part of the state of Israel.”
Observers have noted an increase in visits by Netanyahu to settlements in the occupied territories since Donald Trump was sworn in as US president in January.
Since Trump took office – and despite requests by the US president to hold back on settlement building – an emboldened Netanyahu government has pushed forward with a steady stream of announcements on settlement building.
The Palestinians seek the West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, as part of a future independent state, and consider all of Israel’s settlements to be illegal – a position that is widely shared by the international community. Israel says the settlements’ fate should be resolved through negotiations.
Nabil Shaath, a senior adviser to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, called Netanyahu’s comments “totally unacceptable”.
“This is an attempt by Netanyahu to destroy the two-state solution and a clear refusal of any attempt to revive the peace process, especially by the United States,” he said.
