Israel: No citizenship for Palestinians in annexed lands

By Abdelraouf Arna'out

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will continue with his annexation plan in occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu said in an interview with Israeli daily Israel Hayom published on Thursday that Palestinians living within annexed areas in Jordan Valley and West Bank will "remain Palestinian subjects in enclaves" under the Israeli security control with no Israeli citizenship.

"If they [Palestinians] agree to all that [Netanyahu's conditions], then they’ll have an entity of their own that President Trump defines as a state,” Netanyahu was quoted said.

He said that Palestinians have to meet 10 difficult conditions according to Trump's plan to have their state.

The conditions include that Palestinians recognize "Israeli sovereignty in the territories west of Jordan, keeping Jerusalem united, the non-entry of even a single refugee, no uprooting of communities, and Israeli sovereignty on extensive swaths of Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], and so on and so forth."

Netanyahu added that Palestinians must recognize that Israel "control security in all areas."

Israel is expected to annex parts of the West Bank on July 1, as agreed between Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, the head of the Blue and White party.

The plan comes as part of US President Donald Trump’s so-called Deal of the Century that was announced on Jan. 28, which refers to Jerusalem as “Israel’s undivided capital” and recognizes Israeli sovereignty over large parts of the West Bank.

The plan calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the form of an archipelago connected by bridges and tunnels.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is seen as occupied territory under international law, thus making all Jewish settlements there – as well as the planned annexation – illegal.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara