From the Liveblog of
Monday, May 18, 2020
Israel’s envoy to US said pushing for swift annexation before American elections
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleIsrael’s Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer is lobbying for Israel to quickly move ahead with annexing parts of the West Bank as the presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden may win the US presidential elections in November, Channel 13 reports.
Citing three unnamed Israeli and American sources, the network says Dermer has been trying to convince members of the Trump administration, Republic senators and congressmen, journalists and other figures of the need to move forward with the application of Israeli sovereignty over settlements and the Jordan Valley.
“We need to move forward with annexation now because we don’t know what will happen in the US presidential elections in November — Biden may win. Now there’s a window of opportunity and therefore this needs to be done now,” Dermer is quoted saying during closed briefings.
He reportedly adds: “There’s a one time opportunity to advance annexation while Trump is still there.”
The report says Dermer, who is a close confidante of Prime Minister Netanyahu, was looking to speed up annexation, as he was aware of disagreements in the White House and State Department, with some US officials saying the move should wait.
According to the report, US officials’ hesitancy about annexation was the result of multiple factors: Opposition by allies Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; concerns the move could destabilize Jordan; the White House’s preoccupation with the coronavirus pandemic; and the reservations expressed by new Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, when they met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week.
An aide to Biden said last month that the former US vice president opposes unilateral annexation.
The Times of Israel Community.