Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to score political points on the far right with talk of annexing parts of the occupied West Bank. He doubled down in comments today, as elections loom, saying if he wins he’ll annex the Jordan Valley.



The Jordan Valley is a long narrow valley along the West Bank’s border with Jordan, and Netanyahu had long insisted even in the event of a peace deal Israel would always keep it to ensure the Palestinians didn’t have a border with anyone else.



Netanyahu has long since disavowed a two-state solution now, and sees this as just another annexation to promise to try to get the last few seats he needs to stay in office. Annexation is a popular stance among Israel’s far-right voters.



The Palestinian Authority, however, are warning against any such move going forward, saying that annexations would have major international consequences. PA PM Mohammed Shtayyeh said Netanyahu might win a few votes in the short term, but that he’d be a loser in the long term.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz