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IDF instructed to start preparing for possible annexation

It is not yet clear if and when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present his annexation plan, but the army has already been instructed to prepare for escalation scenarios.
Israeli soldiers walk as Palestinian demonstrators gather on a hilltop during a protest against Israeli settlements in the town of Beita in the Israeli occupied West Bank, March 2, 2020. Picture taken March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC2LDF9965R4

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi and Shin Bet head Nadav Argaman will convene a meeting June 3 at the Tel Aviv Defense Ministry headquarters to discuss escalation scenarios ahead of possible annexation of West Bank lands. Representatives of IDF central command and intelligence unit, office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and different Shin Bet branches are expected to participate. They will be presented with different scenarios, including riots in the West Bank and suspension of diplomatic ties with Jordan.

On June 1, Defense Minister Benny Gantz had instructed Kochavi to step up army preparations for the possibility that Israel advances plans on annexing parts of the West Bank.

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