Netanyahu May Try to Annex Jerusalem-Area Settlement, Radio Says

(Bloomberg) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may seek to annex a West Bank settlement outside Jerusalem instead of the Jordan Valley, Army Radio reported on Monday.

Netanyahu, who is facing a third election in less than a year in March, wants to score a significant diplomatic achievement before voters go to the polls, according to the report. Extending Israeli sovereignty to Maale Adumim, a settlement of about 38,000 people that’s four miles (6.4 kilometers) east of Jerusalem, might be less contentious than his initial plan of annexing the Jordan Valley, which could seriously damage relations with Jordan, it said.

Netanyahu and his main election challenger, former Israeli military chief Benny Gantz, are scheduled to hold separate meetings with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday ahead of the planned release of the U.S. leader’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan.

Netanyahu said in 2017 that he supports extending Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries to include Maale Adumim, among other areas. Annexing the Jordan Valley later became a clarion call in his recent election campaigns, but the idea is anathema to Palestinians, who regard it as a harsh blow to their dreams of establishing a state with the West Bank as its core.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alisa Odenheimer in Jerusalem at aodenheimer@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Michael Gunn

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