After US president declared he would block any West Bank annexation, right-wing leaders vow to keep pressing Netanyahu to apply Israeli sovereignty, calling inaction a ‘total failure’ that endangers Israel’s national security
Ynet News
Just a month ago, Israeli authorities in the areas beyond the Green Line believed that applying sovereignty was within reach. But U.S. President Donald Trump reshuffled the deck when he publicly and clearly declared that he would not permit Israel to annex the West Bank.
With that announcement, hopes held by right‑wing leaders and settlement heads dropped out of the official agenda — leaving the question: Where do they go from here?
The Ministerial Committee on Legislation is slated to review on Sunday the proposal by Noam MK Avi Maoz to extend Israeli sovereignty over the territory. Yet, despite this move, any meaningful legislation appears parked and is not actively being discussed.
‘It’s not on the agenda. A month ago, we were in a different place, but now Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t there,’ a senior political right figure said. ‘There are deals and people are working on important issues, but we are not abandoning the idea. This coalition is overwhelmingly in favor of sovereignty.’
Meanwhile, on the ground, settlement council leaders continue pressing ahead with the construction of housing units, breaking records for the last several years while approving and expanding agricultural farms in the Israeli-administered Area C of the West Bank.
Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council, said the sitting right-wing government was elected to implement the national camp’s policy rather than that of the left. He warned that if sovereignty is not declared, a Palestinian state will be advanced instead.
‘All the states opposing sovereignty argue that it will thwart a Palestinian state, so we expect full sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. We have not taken our foot off the gas for a moment,’ he said. ‘The ball has never been in Washington, but in Jerusalem. Only Netanyahu will decide whether there will be sovereignty. In the near future, we will intensify our efforts. Sovereignty is Israel’s defensive belt. Not applying it is a total failure of the right‑wing government, a failure that endangers national security and we are here to make sure it doesn’t happen.’
Other senior settler leaders called Trump’s remarks ‘undoubtedly a disappointment,’ but added that they recognize completion of the move is complex. ‘Even Netanyahu was not there at the start,’ one said, ‘but he was given a message to mention Judea and Samaria in his Knesset speech during his visit, and he did so. Netanyahu also knows a Palestinian state will not advance, certainly not under the current government.’
On the right, efforts continue to thwart any possibility of a Palestinian state led by the Palestinian Authority. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is said to be continuing his campaign to block funds. Under Trump’s framework, the Palestinians would still have to go a significant distance before gaining state recognition, but Israeli officials say that if Israel’s plans in Gaza succeed, it could influence what happens in Judea and Samaria.
So while the sovereignty agenda has not vanished from right‑wing circles, the mechanism for advancing it has stalled under Washington’s veto, leaving Israel’s nationalist camp facing a major strategic decision on how to proceed.