The number of settlers living in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank has grown to nearly , Settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank are connected to each other and to Israel through bypass roads that circumvent Palestinian areas. Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank are allowed to carry weapons, and often attack Palestinians and their buildings and farmland.
Israel continues to expand existing settlements, as well as annexing more Palestinian land to build new settlements.
The plan was originally set to go up for approval two months ago but was stalled by the Civil Administration, the Kan public broadcaster said. Area C makes up some 60 percent of the West Bank and is fully under Israeli security and administrative control. Israel rarely approves Palestinian construction in Area C, with the overwhelming majority of requests being denied. This has resulted in rampant illegal building, which is in turn often demolished by Israel.
Between and , just 21 of the 1, Palestinian applications for construction permits in Area C were approved by the Defense Ministry, or 0. In , the security cabinet approved — in principle — a record building permits for Palestinians in what was widely seen as an attempt both to prevent the High Court of Justice from blocking further demolitions of Palestinian property on the grounds that it is impossible for Palestinians to build legally and to stave off international criticism against Israel for failing to allow Palestinian construction.
However, an investigation by The Times of Israel last year found that very few of those buildings permits had actually been issued. However, the Palestinians seek the whole of the West Bank - to which they claim an historical right - for a future independent state, along with the Gaza Strip.
Any annexation by Israel, they argue, would leave Palestinian areas fragmented and the Palestinian people with considerably less land for a country of their own. Israel claims historical and religious rights to the West Bank as the ancestral land of the Jewish people. It also says its presence there - especially in the Jordan Valley - is strategically vital for its self-defence.
It says settlements are not an obstacle to peace and that they would remain part of Israel under any peace deal with the Palestinians, whether they are annexed now or not. Mr Netanyahu has long championed the settlements and through annexation wants to remove any doubt as to their fate, something which strongly appeals to his political base.
Until recently, Mr Netanyahu would have faced solid opposition among the international community to such a move. However, Donald Trump's Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, unveiled in January, allows for Israel to "incorporate" all the settlements - something no previous US administration had countenanced. An agreement which returned Mr Netanyahu to office as head of a national unity government in May set 1 July as the date from which the annexation process could be initiated.
Assuming it happens Israel and the US are still deliberating exactly when and how , the settlements and surrounding areas will become permanent parts of Israel at least, from Israel's position. Reversal would require the support of a large majority of Israeli MPs, something which is very unlikely. In practice, Israeli laws already apply to settlers, though not to Palestinians, who are subject only to Israeli military orders and Palestinian laws, so there would be little noticeable change in that respect.
One of the most significant differences annexation would likely make is in settlement construction - long one of the thorniest issues between Israel and the Palestinians.
Currently, building and zoning in the West Bank requires the approval of Israel's defence minister and prime minister, and can take months or years. Following annexation, it would become a local matter and consequently easier for Israel to build there. Beyond the annexed areas, the Israeli military will continue to exercise overall authority - something Palestinians say has deprived generations of their basic civil rights.
By and large, Israel has been warned by friend and foe alike not to go ahead with annexation. There are fears that such a move will put peace between Israel and the Palestinians even further out of reach. The Palestinians are calling for international pressure to thwart Mr Netanyahu's plans, and their prime minister has said they could declare their own independent state on almost all of the West Bank if Israel annexes land there.
The UN's Middle East envoy has warned that Israeli annexation and Palestinian counter-steps "would dramatically shift local dynamics and most likely trigger conflict and instability in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip ".
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