MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Israel's Parliament okays annexation of West Bank

The resolution is not binding, but it paves the way for a future annexation

Israel's Knesset (parliament) approved a non-binding motion Wednesday calling for the annexation of the West Bank. The initiative, which passed with 71 votes in favor and 13 against, asserts Israel's “natural, historical, and legal right” to the territory, which it refers to as “Judea and Samaria.”

While this resolution has no immediate legal effect, it is seen as a symbolic step and a way to build momentum towards future annexation. Proponents argue that annexing the West Bank would strengthen Israel's security and sovereignty, preventing any future Palestinian state.

The move drew strong condemnation from the Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank. Hussein al-Sheikh, second-in-command of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), called it “a direct attack on the rights of the Palestinian people” and a “flagrant violation of international law.”

The vote comes amidst heightened international pressure regarding Palestinian statehood, and follows similar non-binding motions passed by the Knesset in the past. Critics of the motion, including Arab parties and left-wing Israeli parties, warned that annexation poses a danger to Israel's future and undermines prospects for peace and a two-state solution.

“The annexation of the West Bank will strengthen the State of Israel and its security, and prevent any questioning of the fundamental right of the Jewish people to peace and security in their homeland,” the resolution claimed. “Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” the name Israel uses for the West Bank, a territory it has occupied since 1967, is “an integral part of the realization of Zionism and the national vision of the Jewish people,” it added.