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| Mr Netanyahu is seeking re-election. REUTERS photo |
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank if he is re-elected.
Israelis go to the polls on Tuesday and Mr Netanyahu is competing for votes with right-wing parties who support annexing part of the West Bank.
The settlements are illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
Last month the US recognised the occupied Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967, as Israeli territory.
Israel has settled about 400,000 Jews in West Bank settlements, with another 200,000 living in East Jerusalem. There are about 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank.
Palestinians want to establish a state in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
What happens to the settlements is one of the most contentious issues between Israel and the Palestinians – Palestinians say the presence of settlements make a future independent state impossible.
Israel says the Palestinians are using the issue of settlements as a pretext to avoid direct peace talks. It says settlements are not a genuine obstacle to peace and are negotiable.
What exactly did Netanyahu say?
He was asked during an interview on Israeli TV why he had not extended Israeli sovereignty to large settlements in the West Bank.
“You are asking whether we are moving on to the next stage – the answer is yes, we will move to the next stage,” he said.
“I am going to extend [Israeli] sovereignty and I don’t distinguish between settlement blocs and the isolated settlements.”
What has been the Palestinian reaction?
Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said the statement by Mr Netanyahu was “not surprising”.
He added: “Israel will continue to brazenly violate international law for as long as the international community will continue to reward Israel with impunity, particularly with the Trump administration’s support and endorsement of Israel’s violation of the national and human rights of the people of Palestine.”
A spokesman for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas told Reuters: “Any measures and any announcements will not change the facts. Settlements are illegal and they will be removed.”
