The Israel Briefing: US concerned over Netanyahu de facto annexing West Bank
In this weekly newsletter, Ben Caspit and Rina Bassist round up the biggest stories from Israel.
Netanyahu’s government could soon be completed, but at what price? The Americans are worried over a series of concessions Netanyahu has already agreed to. Control of the Civil Administration, for instance, which is the governing body operating in the West Bank, will apparently go to the far-right Religious Zionism party.
One party member will be appointed minister within the defense ministry. And then there is ultranationalist Itamar Ben-Gvir, slated to become national security minister. Netanyahu knows that all these moves could ignite the West Bank and Gaza, not to mention damage Israel’s relations with the United States.
