Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister, has promised to annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank if he is re-elected on Tuesday.

Palestinian leaders immediately reacted with anger at the pledge, which came in an interview with Israeli Channel 12 News three days ahead of the election.

Mr Netanyahu was asked why he had not extended sovereignty to large West Bank settlements, as Israel did without international recognition in east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, both captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

"Who says that we won't do it? We are on the way and we are discussing it," Mr Netanyahu said.

"You are asking whether we are moving on to the next stage - the answer is yes, we will move to the next stage. I am going to extend (Israeli) sovereignty and I don't distinguish between settlement blocs and the isolated settlements."

The veteran right-wing Israeli leader, who has dominated Israeli politics for a generation, is fighting for his political survival against former top general Benny Gantz, a political novice campaigning on a centrist platform.