Israel reportedly weighs annexations in Judea & Samaria amid international push to recognize ‘State of Palestine’

The Israeli government is debating whether to annex parts of Judea and Samaria in response to the push of several countries to recognize a Palestinian state, according to reports from Axios and Walla News on Sunday.

The issue was discussed during last week’s meeting in Washington between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to Walla.

However, it was not mentioned in the official readouts released by either side.

The reports come amid a broader push by several countries, spearheaded by France, to recognize a State of Palestine as a punitive measure against Israel.

Israel has strongly criticized these efforts as serving Hamas, while the United States has responded with retaliatory measures, including revoking the visas of Palestinian officials – among them Palestianian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas – who had planned to travel to New York for next month’s UN General Assembly.

Israel has sharply criticized these efforts as benefiting Hamas, while the United States has taken retaliatory measures, including canceling visas of Palestinian officials – among them Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas – who planned to attend the UN General Assembly in New York next month.

France and Saudi Arabia are planning to hold a conference on the sidelines of the assembly, where they intend to formally announce their recognition of a Palestinian state.

Sa’ar reportedly told Rubio that Israel would move toward annexation in the coming months but would like to keep the issue quiet for now.

Axios also reported that there are “serious” discussions within the Israeli government about the issue, citing three Israeli, U.S. and European officials “with direct knowledge.”

One of the key factors for the success of the initiative will be securing support from the Trump administration, which is not yet assured.

Two U.S. officials told Axios that for the time being, it seems unlikely that the president will endorse Israeli annexation plans outright.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Axios that the administration does not yet have a position: “I don't know how extensive [the planned annexation] is. I'm not sure there is a common view inside the Israeli government about where it would be and how much,” he said.

However, Israeli officials told the outlet that Trump's administration might be swayed to support Israel out of anger at the countries that are planning to recognize Palestine.

“What the Europeans are planning to do started causing more and more people in Israel to say that maybe they should start talking of annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria,” noted Huckabee.

Israeli and European officials told Axios that Israel threatened European diplomats that it would declare its sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria if they went ahead with their recognition of Palestine.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer reportedly told a senior advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron that Israel would annex all of Area C, comprising some 60% of the region.

Other options could be to annex the existing Israeli settlements – including access routes – as well as the Jordan Valley, which comprises about 30% of the area; or to annex only the settlements and their access routes, approximately 10%.

However, the issue is still under discussion within the government, including at a meeting convened last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where possible retaliatory steps against Palestinian recognition were outlined. Further deliberations were scheduled for Sunday.

Within the right-wing coalition, most parties agree in principle that Judea and Samaria should belong to Israel and support declaring sovereignty over them.

In July, the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, passed a non-binding motion calling for Judea and Samaria (internationally known as the West Bank) to be annexed and made an inseparable part of the State of Israel.

The resolution, which will not have any immediate effect on policy, passed 71-3 in a rare show of bipartisanship in the deeply divided legislature.

However, Walla reported that there is a discussion about whether this should be declared as a punishment against other states, rather than a stand-alone, ideologically motivated move.

Most countries argue that such a declaration would violate the UN Charter and the Geneva Convention, while the International Criminal Court has already been investigating Israel’s settlement activity as a potential war crime.

Axios cited warnings by European officials that such a move would likely lead to new sanctions against Israel by the members of the European Union and other Western countries.

In addition, Arab officials threatened to suspend or downgrade peace agreements with Israel, while the prospect of Israeli-Saudi normalization would become even more distant.