Knesset overwhelmingly approves non-binding proposal to annex West Bank
Vote in favour of proposal unites Israel's right-wing parties
Israel’s Knesset has overwhelmingly approved a motion in favour of annexing the West Bank as “an inseparable part of the Land of Israel, the historical, cultural and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people.”
The non-binding resolution which passed by 71-13 votes on Wednesday called on the government to “apply Israeli sovereignty, law, judgment and administration to all the areas of Jewish settlement of all kinds in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley.”
Most world powers, including the UK, consider the settlements, now home to around 500, 000 Israelis, illegal under international law.
In a rare show of unity, ultra-Orthodox parties, which left the Netanyahu led coalition due to disputes over the enlistment law, joined Likud and other right-wing parties in voting for the annexation resolution. The opposition Yisrael Beiteinu also voted in favour.
“This move would make it clear to the world that Israel will not accept solutions that involve dangerous territorial concessions, and that it is committed to its future as a secure Jewish state,” the motion stated.
Voting against were the Arab parties as well as the left-wing Democrats. The largest opposition parties, Yesh Atid and Blue and White, did not vote on the motion.
The vote comes amid growing international pressure on the issue of Palestinian statehood, with world leaders set to meet at an international summit on the topic at the UN headquarters in New York in September.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s deputy, Hussein al-Sheikh, later called the annexation vote a “dangerous escalation that undermines the prospects for peace, stability and the two-state solution.”
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