Israel’s ruling Likud party escalated pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 2 July, when at least 14 of his cabinet ministers and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana signed a letter demanding that the government “apply Israeli sovereignty and law” to the occupied West Bank before the parliament’s summer recess on 27 July.
The signatories—who include the defence, economy, justice and agriculture ministers—wrote that recent “strategic partnership” with the United States and backing from President Donald Trump create a “historic opportunity” for annexation. They argued that the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023 proved that recognising settlement blocs alongside a Palestinian state poses an “existential threat” to Israel.
Earlier in the day, Justice Minister Yariv Levin told settler leaders that “the time for sovereignty has come,” signalling mounting internal support for a full takeover of the territory Israel has occupied since 1967. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a leading pro-settlement figure, published the letter on social media.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the appeal as a “direct threat to regional stability,” and the foreign ministries of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt said any unilateral annexation would violate international law and undermine the two-state solution. The International Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal.
Netanyahu, who has not publicly responded, is due in Washington next week for talks with President Trump expected to focus on a possible Gaza cease-fire and a hostage-release deal. Annexing the West Bank could complicate those discussions and widen Israel’s rift with key Arab partners.
🇮🇱 #Likoud ministers are urging Benyamin #Netanyahu to annex #Cisjordanie by the end of July.
►The time is right, they believe, just a few minutes before the meeting between the Israeli Prime Minister and Donald #Trump at the White House.
►And also at the moment when a
