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U.S.: Israeli Annexation of Parts of West Bank Not Contingent on Palestinian State
(Times of Israel) Raphael Ahren - A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem told the Times of Israel on Friday: "As we have made consistently clear, we are prepared to recognize Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty and the application of Israeli law to areas of the West Bank that the [U.S. peace plan] foresees as being part of the State of Israel." A senior U.S. official said the U.S. will recognize an Israeli application of sovereignty over parts of the West Bank when: a) the joint U.S.-Israel mapping committee has completed its work; b) the Israeli government implements a four-year freeze of the areas earmarked for a future Palestinian state; and c) the government formally agrees to negotiate a final-status peace deal with the Palestinians based on the U.S. peace plan. If the Palestinians continue to refuse to engage with the U.S. and Israel on the plan, annexation can go ahead in the absence of a Palestinian state, he added.