RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sept. 16, just one day before the Israeli elections were held, his intention to annex the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba and the Jewish areas in Hebron should he win the elections.
The announcement came after Netanyahu visited Sept. 4 Hebron, in the southern West Bank, where he promised Israelis that they would remain there forever. Also, on Sept. 10, he vowed to announce Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the north of the Dead Sea if elected to form the next government.