BICOM

Israel’s Defence Minister has warned lawmakers of a message from the US administration that annexing West Bank territory would lead to an “immediate crisis” in relations between the two countries.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman yesterday told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee that Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank would mean an immediate crisis with the new administration.

He warned that extending “Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank means extending sovereignty over 2.7m Palestinians, and I’m not even talking about international law and the international political repercussions”.

Lieberman further asserted that “we need to separate ourselves from Palestinians and not absorb them,” and called on “the coalition to act responsibly and take a clear and firm position”.

Since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in January some right-wing politicians have increasingly advocated annexing either all or parts of the West Bank, and floated a legislative initiative to annex the city of Ma’aleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem.

Likud’s Yoav Kisch and Jewish Home’s Betzalel Smotrich, who are spearheading the draft legislation, issued a statement in response to Lieberman’s comments, which said: “This campaign of scaring people against sovereignty has to stop. A people can’‎t be an occupier in its own land, and that’‎s why this is not about ‘‎annexation’ ‎but rather about applying sovereignty over our land.”

Likud’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely accused Lieberman of “trying to dictate a reality that hasn’‎t yet been created in Washington”.

She added: “The dialogue with the Americans hasn’‎t started and the current administration has still not formulated strategic plans for the region. The US administration is open to new thinking and all the options are still on the table. This unnecessary intimidation causes damage to Israeli freedom of action.”

Lieberman will travel to Washington today, where he will meet his American counterpart, Defence Secretary James Mattis, plus Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.