Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the issue of Israel applying sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria remains on the table.
“The issue of applying sovereignty is in Washington ... it’s not off the table; the option still exists,” Netanyahu told party members at a Likud faction meeting.
Under the parameters of the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan and Israel’s coalition agreement, Netanyahu had declared that starting on July 1, he could move to apply sovereignty to what is commonly referred to as the West Bank. But there has been little movement on the issue since.
It also remains unclear whether or not the United States will support any move by Israel to apply sovereignty. Trump is in the middle of a tough re-election campaign, while also simultaneously dealing with the raging coronavirus pandemic and racial protests. In the past, officials in the Trump administration have signaled that the decision was up to Israel.
Republicans are still urging the Trump administration to back the move, while other groups, such as evangelical Christians—a core base of support for Trump—are also calling for the president to endorse it.
Similarly, Netanyahu has faced push back from opponents on the left and right, as well as from allies in Europe and the Arab world.
