Netanyahu may annex Ma’aleh Adumim before Jordan Valley - report
Israel holds that E1 and Ma’aleh Adumim must be part of the final borders of the state, in order to ensure territorial contiguity with that area and a united Jerusalem.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFA general view picture shows houses in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank February 15, 2017(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS)
Israel could apply sovereignty over the Ma’aleh Adumim settlement first, rather than over the Jordan Valley, Army Radio reported on Monday morning.It had always been presumed that Ma’aleh Adumim, the third largest settlement and home to over 38,000 people, would be the first West Bank settlement to be annexed by Israel.Army Radio speculated that this would include the unbuilt E1 section of the city. E1 has been considered so sensitive that building there has been frozen for the last 26 years as a result of US pressure. Even the security barrier, which was supposed to have encompassed the entire Ma’aleh Adumim city, including E1, was frozen.Palestinians hold that placing E1 within Israel’s final borders would make it impossible for them to have a viable Palestinian state, because it would impede contiguous development of their territory.Israel holds that E1 and Ma’aleh Adumim must be part of the final borders of its state, in order to ensure territorial contiguity with that area and a united Jerusalem.Army Radio speculated that the application of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley was complex, in part because it could harm ties with neighboring Jordan and could even create upheaval within that country.There are also some 75,000 Palestinians who live there, and citizenship issues relating to them would need to be addressed.Ma’aleh Adumim is located just five kilometers away from Jerusalem, in the direction of the Jordan Valley. Applying sovereignty there could also be part of an eventual plan for continuity with the Jordan Valley, a move that would help its annexation in the future.During the last few years, there have been many “annexation first” campaigns, one of which was for Ma’aleh Adumim. Others have included Gush Etzion and the Jordan Valley. Settler expectation now, however, is really nothing less than the application of sovereignty to all of the settlements. The Yamina Party wants to see the annexation of all of Area C.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief political rival Blue and White Party head Benny Gantz are in Washington, where they will meet separately with US President Donald Trump to hear details of his long awaited peace plan.
