US concerned over Netanyahu de facto annexing West Bank
For Washington, the concessions Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu is now offering his far-right partners could quickly reignite tensions in the West Bank.
Tensions with the Biden administration are growing as Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to install the most radical, ultraconservative government in Israeli history. US officials have conveyed indirect messages to Netanyahu in recent days, warning against handing control over the administration of Palestinian lives in the West Bank to Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich. They said that such a move would be tantamount to de facto annexation of the territory, with significant implications for the Jerusalem-Washington relationship.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s scheduled Dec. 4 address at the annual conference of the liberal pro-Israel J Street lobby in Washington is expected to convey similar points. In a related development, the State Department has announced the appointment of top diplomat Hady Amr to the newly created post of US special representative for Palestinian affairs. Amr told reporters this week that the Washington-based role “bolsters our ability to manage challenges in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship.”
While Netanyahu would rather his Republican ally Donald Trump be on the other side of the hotline to Washington, he has eight years of experience under his belt with the Democratic administration of former President Barack Obama. Accordingly, he has been conveying reassuring messages to Washington regarding the direction of his incoming government.
“The main policy or the overriding policy of the government is determined by the Likud and frankly, by me,” he said on the Bari Weiss “Common Sense” podcast this week in response to questions about declarations by his ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox coalition partners. “This Israel is not going to be governed by Talmudic law. We're not going to ban LGBT forums. As you know, my view on that is sharply different, to put it mildly. We will remain a country of laws,” he said, adding that the defense minister would be a member of his own Likud party and ensure that defense policy does not promote escalation. “I'm trying to avoid that,” he added.
