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Netanyahu edges back to reality as support for annexation wanes

After warnings by the US administration that he needs to have Blue and White on board with his plan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may settle for a limited, symbolic annexation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands at an overview of the Israeli settlement of Har Homa, located in an area of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, that Israel annexed to Jerusalem after the region's capture in the 1967 Middle East war, February 20, 2020. Debbie Hill/Pool via REUTERS - RC2E4F92VRA5

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Likud faction on June 15 that he wanted to bring an annexation plan for approval in the near future, but the map still isn’t ready. The ministers took the declaration silently. No one mentioned that only recently, a confident Netanyahu had proclaimed that there have been no changes to the annexation program, that the target date of July 1 remains set as determined in the coalition agreement between Likud and Blue and White.

Netanyahu is the supreme leader. If he wills it, he can shelve the same program that turned him into a great leader of the right wing six months ago.

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