Settler leader: preliminary Knesset vote on annexation bill can happen now

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to apply sovereignty to the West Bank settlements. He only plans to do so, however, within the context of the Trump peace plan.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
A general view picture shows houses in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank February 15, 2017 (photo credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS)
A general view picture shows houses in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank February 15, 2017
(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS)
The Knesset should hold an immediate preliminary reading of a private members bill filed by MK May Golan (Likud) that would allow for the application of sovereignty over West Bank settlements, Yesha Council head David Elhayani said on Sunday.
“The bill can already be brought now for a preliminary reading” in the Knesset plenum, Elhayani said.
He spoke after Golan’s bill, which she filed last month, was bureaucratically advanced on Sunday. The bill was initiated by Economic Affairs Minister Eli Cohen, but his status as a minister prohibits him from filling a private member bill.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to apply sovereignty to the West Bank settlements. He only plans to do so, however, within the context of the Trump peace plan, which sets out a four-year process for the creation of a Palestinian state.
The US has asked Netanyahu to wait until the completion of an Israeli-American mapping process for the territory designated for sovereignty under the peace plan, which is expected to amount to 30% of the West Bank.   
According to the coalition agreement, a Knesset vote on annexation within the context of the Trump peace plan has to wait until at least July 1.
But those who want to separate annexation from the plan hold that a vote should be brought to the Knesset now, even though there is an interim government in place.
That interim government has enough support for the bill and it is not yet bound by the coalition agreement, a settler source said.
At issue for some pro-sovereignty settlers and politicians is the part of Trump’s plan that calls for the creation of a Palestinian state. They believe that such a state would pose an existential threat to Israel.
The US has said it would support annexation, but only in the context of the Trump peace plan. A spokesperson for the US Embassy clarified this position to The Jerusalem Post over the weekend.
Golan’s bill has enough support for Knesset passage, unless thwarted by Netanyahu. It has no connection to the Trump peace plan.
“The bill will apply sovereignty to Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, without recognition of a Palestinian state that would endanger the future of the State of Israel,” Elhayani said.
“We call on all Knesset members from the national parties to stand behind this legislation, to advance sovereignty and prevent the creation of a Palestinian state," he said.
In speaking of her bill on Sunday, Golan said that Judea and Samaria is “an area that is a strategic, diplomatic, security and economic asset. The thousands of Israelis who live there are Zionists and true pioneers, who are an inseparable part of the State of Israel.
“The bill was designed to remedy the existing situation and finally allow for historical justice. I have no doubt that there is a broad consensus in all parts of the [Knesset] that supports the legislation,” Golan added, “and the time has come to implement it.”