JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s push to annex territory in the occupied West Bank entered a critical window on Wednesday, but with his divided government, the indecisive White House and growing internal opposition, his allies said a formal announcement could be of weeks or even months away.
The international opposition is also gaining strength: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson added his name to the list of foreign leaders denouncing the annexation, warning in a front-page article in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper that it would be “contrary to Israel’s self-interest in the long term ”and that his country would not recognize any such unilateral measure.
Netanyahu, who seeks to consolidate his legacy, ran for reelection with a promise to impose Israeli sovereignty on up to 30 percent of the West Bank, land that Palestinians have long sought for a future state. His coalition agreement with Benny Gantz, the former centrist army chief who nearly defeated him, allowed him to proceed with annexation no later than July 1.
But that date came and went on Wednesday without any clarification from Mr. Netanyahu about what he intends to annex. The scenarios that continue to float in the Israeli media only raise new questions.
The latter, described as a counterproposal by Mr. Netanyahu to the original Trump administration “concept map” for possible annexation, showed Jewish enclaves deep within the territory designated by the growing Palestinians, presumably to appease right-wing settlers. They opposed being isolated within a potential Palestinian state. But they also asked to compensate the Palestinians by handing them some of the hills that dominate Ben-Gurion International Airport, which Israeli hawks once considered too strategically vital to give away.
Other options mentioned include attaching a small, purely symbolic area, taking all 30 percent, or doing it in phases.
The confusion appears to be hampering the government as well: An official from the National Security Council told Israeli radio on Wednesday that Mr. Netanyahu’s cabinet had not yet met to discuss the possible ramifications of annexation.
Nor have relevant security officials, including the army chief of staff, the West Bank division commander and the head of the internal security agency Shin Bet, been involved in the discussions, said Avigdor Liberman, a rival to Netanyahu.
Netanyahu himself noted that Wednesday would be anticlimactic, and said the day before that he would continue working on the annexation plan “in the coming days.” Ofir Akunis, a Netanyahu ally and lawmaker, said on Wednesday that annexation may have to wait until the end of July. And Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, another Netanyahu ally, said annexation could take “months.”
But the window for unilateral annexation could close in November if Trump is defeated: Israel would need American support, and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has said he opposes that measure.
At the moment, however, the political obstacles to go ahead with the annexation are formidable.
Some right-wing settlers rebel at the contemplation of Trump’s peace plan for a Palestinian state of any kind in the West Bank. The White House sent emissaries to Jerusalem this week for a round of annexation meetings that were described as inconclusive.
The Trump administration has insisted that Netanyahu win the Gantz deal, wanting to prevent the former military leader from accusing him of endangering Israel’s life as he fights for reelection.
That condition may be one of the reasons for the delay. Gantz, who is now the defense minister, has opposed unilateral annexation.
Gantz’s political support has plummeted since the elections, due to his promising alliance with Netanyahu despite the prime minister’s pending trial on corruption charges. But what remains of Mr. Gantz’s base overwhelmingly opposes annexation, so he’s seizing every opportunity to shuffle: he declared Monday that “anything unrelated to the battle with the coronavirus will wait.” .
For his part, Mr. Netanyahu has threatened to dismantle the government and force a fourth election, which nobody in Israel wants, if Mr. Gantz does not align himself, or proceed with annexation without the support of Mr. Gantz. But Mr. Gantz is calling the two lanterns.
Gantz has more of his base on his side by arguing that Israel has bigger fish to fry: Polls show ordinary voters care less about annexation than the pandemic, the hissing economy and a health system that was already overwhelmed before the virus hit.
The date of July 1 at least managed to mobilize the strongest voices on the subject. Opponents pulled four full-page ads on Wednesday in Haaretz, the left-leaning newspaper, and taped the side of a skyscraper at the entrance to Jerusalem with a sign reading Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Gantz and the Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi. .
Regavim, a group of settlers, hung banners in the city showing a thoughtful Mr. Netanyahu and the slogan “History will judge”, with the words “Yes sovereignty” under a photo of Winston Churchill and “No Palestinian state” underneath from that of Neville Chamberlain, Hitler’s infamous calmer.
However, some in favor of annexation accused Mr. Netanyahu of promoting it as a cynical trick to win a tight election and divert attention from his criminal trial.
Liberman, a former defense minister who heads the nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, said that Netanyahu’s failure to discuss the plan with security officials revealed his true motives.
“For 14 months, the prime minister screams and talks about the application of sovereignty,” Liberman said on Wednesday. “The result is that this whole movement is not a movement to apply sovereignty, but a public relations movement. Simply electoral theft. Nothing else.”
