US Warned Israel Against 'Unilateral' Moves Regarding West Bank

(Patria) – A US envoy warned Israel on Sunday against declaring sovereignty over West Bank territory without Washington's consent, thus denying support to the initiative of ultranationalists in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government for 'swift action'.

US President Donald Trump's Middle East plan, presented to the public on January 28, stipulates that Israel will retain large parts of the occupied territory where Palestinians want their own state.

Netanyahu has already chosen 'the application of Israeli law' – the annexation of Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley – as his pre-election asset, thus winning the support of the religious-right base in advance, who will support him on March 2 to win his 5th consecutive term.

However, the Prime Minister has been stopped in his intention for a blitz annexation by the White House, which does not want concrete steps to be taken until the mapping process involving the US and Israel is completed.

The Palestinians have rejected the plan in its entirety.

In response to the initiative of Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett and other ultranationalists for the cabinet to immediately proceed with a vote on West Bank sovereignty, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said via Twitter that 'Israel must first complete the mapping process within the framework of a joint Israeli-American commission. Any unilateral action before the commission completes its work jeopardizes the Plan and US recognition (of the territory),' Friedman announced.

Netanyahu reacted by stating that 'American recognition is the most important thing and we do not want to jeopardize it.'

Friedman also said that mapping cannot be completed before the March 2 elections, but that a possible unclear election outcome will not affect the implementation.

Israeli settlements built on land captured in the 1967 Middle East war are considered by most countries to be a violation of international law.

Palestinians believe that due to the growing settlements, the formation of a Palestinian state is an unsustainable idea because they accept the pre-1967 war map. At the same time, Israel invokes historical and religious ties to the land on which the settlements are built, Reuters reports.