Despite announcements by the prime minister on the annexation of the Jordan Valley beginning in July, the army has not been instructed to create a related document on the required procedures.
By TAL LEV RAMTHE JORDAN VALLEY(photo credit: REUTERS)
Despite the announcements of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will push forth the annexation processes to July, the IDF has not been instructed to prepare documents regarding actions required for the process of annexation.Moreover, no significant discussions have taken place so far between military and political officials on the subject. The IDF has not received schedules, drawings, maps, or an accurate translation of the political intentions in regard to the annexation of territories.For example, the IDF was not notified if the process is intended specifically for the Jordan Valley, or other areas in Judea and Samaria, in accordance with US President Donald Trump's "Deal of the Century" plan, which the defense hierarchy believe has significant security vulnerabilities.The discourse between IDF officials and those of Jordan's army continues to be good, although the latter have oftentimes expressed concern over the annexation plans.The IDF promised the Jordanians to continue updating them on the subject.The IDF has nevertheless begun planning for sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, Judea and Samaria in recent months, but it has done so generally and independently, without receiving various guidelines on the issue or a timetable for presenting the plan.The Chief of the Planning Division, Major Amir Abulafia, has been charged with organizing, but questions remain unanswered even in his headquarters since the political echelon has not clarified its intentions to the army.Since the coordination between the IDF and Palestinian security forces ceased, tensions have risen and the IDF is preparing for the possibility of escalation in the region on various levels.The potential for escalation in Judea and Samaria is larger, according to some estimations, than in previous years, and so the IDF is accelerating these preparations, in particular its planning and training.In recent years, the IDF has recognized gathering centers in the Gaza Strip or along the northern border as a central threat, so the most of its attention has been directed to the Judea and Samaria region.
With the end of the month of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holiday, the IDF sees the coming days as a test for assessing trends in the field.This article was translated from Maariv by Tamar Beeri.
