A number of lawmakers on the Right are saying that now is the time to annex Judea and Samaria. The call to impose Israeli sovereignty over the disputed territories follows U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's visit to Israel last week, boycotted by the Palestinians, during which Pence delivered a strong speech in support of Israel as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Friday meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Davos, ahead of which Trump criticized what he called the Palestinians' lack of respect for the U.S. and reiterated his support for the decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Both the U.S. officials appeared to put the onus on restarting peace talks on the Palestinians
Right-wing lawmakers pushing for Israel's annexation of Judea and Samaria say the move would likely be met with indifference by the current U.S. administration, which they believe would not attempt to thwart the move.
Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin on Saturday said, "Regardless of President Trump, there is importance to advancing Israeli sovereignty" over Judea and Samaria. He said such a move would have "great advantages, largely due to the fact that this is first of all the realization of Israeli aspirations. All of the places over which there is a broad consensus can be annexed, and every such advancement will be welcomed."
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said, "Our right to the land in its entirety is indisputable. Especially at this time, we must act to reach an understanding with the Americans and to begin the process of annexing Area C," he said referring an area of Judea and Samaria that under the 1993 Oslo Accords remains under full Israeli civil and security control. "This will bolster security as well as ensure the future of the State of Israel."
According to Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, "Israeli sovereignty over Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria is the correct and important move," which she said "must be implemented in coordination with the American administration.
"I am happy that this idea is a consensus in the Likud. … The most natural thing is to see the half a million settlers [be treated] as citizens for whom Israeli law applies in full and for whom there is no separate legal system under martial law.
"It is clear to me that a majority of the Israeli public is ripe for the process of imposing Israeli sovereignty over the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. This is the direction we should aspire to," she said.
A number of ministers and lawmakers from the Likud party have expressed support in the past for Israel's annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria, among them Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Welfare and Social Services Minister Haim Katz and MK Oren Hazan.
Habayit Hayehudi leader Education Minister Naftali Bennett has called annexation the only means for preventing the establishment of another terrorist state overlooking Highway 6, a major north-south route, and called for other parties like the centrist Yesh Atid to support the initiative.
Nevertheless, Most Likud members believe Netanyahu will not endorse any move that will alter the status quo in Judea and Samaria. They say that aside from statements by ministers and lawmakers, at this stage, any attempt to initiate such a move is unfeasible.
Last month, the Likud Central Committee unanimously voted to pass a resolution in favor of annexing Jewish communities inside Judea and Samaria to Israel. According to the wording of the nonbinding resolution, "Marking the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Judea and Samaria, including Jerusalem our eternal capital, the Likud Central Committee calls on elected Likud officials to act to allow free construction and impose the laws of the State of Israel and its sovereignty over all the liberated settlement areas in Judea and Samaria."
