Far-right Israeli minister plans bill to annex one of biggest settlements

Naftali Bennett vows to introduce a bill this month to formally
annex Maale Adumim in the occupied Palestinian territories

Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem
Tuesday 3 January 2017 14.36 GMT

The far-right Israeli education minister, Naftali Bennett, has vowed to introduce a bill this month to formally annex Maale Adumim, one of Israel’s largest settlement blocks in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In remarks made at a museum in the city of 40,000, located outside Jerusalem, Bennett said: “After being here for 50 years, the time has come to end military rule.”

The hardline leader of the Jewish Home party also made it clear that he saw the annexation of Maale Adumim as a first step in annexing all of so-called Area C – the part of the occupied territories still under full Israeli control.

“For this reason,” said Bennett, “by the end of the month, we will submit the bill for applying (Israeli) law to Judea and Samaria (the name used by Israelis for the occupied territories) and will embark on a new path. We will present to the cabinet a bill for applying Israeli law in Maale Adumim.”

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