There are dozens if not hundreds of complications that will arise because of annexation
In an interview with Galei Tzahal last week, Agriculture Minister Alon Schuster was asked what he thought of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s annexation plan. Schuster, a member of the Blue and White party, replied: “I’ll vote against annexation if it’s unilateral and not part of a larger peace process. It’s a provocative move.”
At a Likud faction meeting last week, Netanyahu admitted he doesn’t know Blue and White’s official position on the proposed annexation, which is scheduled to begin on July 1. In private conversations, sources told me that Netanyahu will present the plan for the government’s approval — whether Blue and White party members like it or not.
At least one member of the Blue and White bloc is expected to support the move. Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel, chairman of the Derech Eretz faction, told Mishpacha he would back sovereignty in Judea and Samaria “irrespective of Gantz’s position.”
The prime minister is bent on making a decisive move by July 1. For Netanyahu, annexation of settlements and the Jordan Valley is more than a mere policy; it will define his legacy. Gantz, for his part, doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. The coalition agreement gives Netanyahu a free hand to move ahead with annexation, but leaves Gantz free to vote as he pleases on the subject.
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