After holding three elections in less than a year, Israelis appear to be finally getting a break from having to go to the polls. On April 20, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party agreed to form a unity government with the leader of the opposition Blue and White Party, Benny Gantz. As part of the deal that the two sides negotiated, Netanyahu will be allowed to let the Knesset — Israel’s parliament — hold a vote on whether Israel should unilaterally annex roughly 30 percent of the West Bank, hitherto considered the main area of land that would comprise a future Palestinian state, possibly as early as July.
There is good reason to believe that President Donald Trump would support an Israeli decision for annexation. Although Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to Jerusalem prompted speculation that Washington might have qualms about such a move, Trump has repeatedly signaled that he backs Israel’s territorial aspirations. The administration, for example, has already recognized Israel’s authority over the Golan Heights and kept the president’s campaign promise to move the U.S. embassy in the country to Jerusalem.
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