FM Sa’ar: Israel not considering annexation of PA-controlled West Bank areas, may extend Israeli law to settlements

Israel will not consider annexing areas of the West Bank currently under Palestinian Authority control, but is weighing extending Israeli law to settlements, says Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

Speaking to the Italian Corriere Della Sera daily, Sa’ar says “there is no intention of even discussing the annexation of Palestinian Authority territories because we don’t want to control the Palestinians.”

“What can be discussed, but hasn’t yet been decided, is implementing Israeli law on the Israeli communities located there and not under the Palestinian Authority,” he explains.

The discussions will take place once Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns from Washington next week.

In accordance with the Oslo Accords from the 1990s, some parts of the West Bank are under the control of the Palestinian Authority, while others are under Israeli control — though not under Israeli sovereignty — and still others are under PA administrative control and Israeli security control.

Asked by the Italian newspaper about the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, Sa’ar says, “We have to stop them. Not violently, but we have to.”