The Israeli government is working closely with the Trump administration to reach an agreement paving the way for the application of Israeli sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria, Settlement Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) said Wednesday.
Speaking with Arutz Sheva, Hotovely said efforts were ongoing to bridge disagreements over the extent of the sovereignty plan, and the conditions Israel must accept to receive US recognition for the move – recognition which is key for moving forward with the plan under the coalition deal with the center-left Blue and White party.
The minister began by pushing back on right-wing criticism of the sovereignty plan, saying incorrect maps and false claims were being spread by the plan’s opponents.
“Many incorrect maps have been published and a lot of incorrect statements made,” said Hotovely, who is a member of the joint Israeli-US mapping team tasked with working out the details for the sovereignty plan, and arriving at an agreement between the White House and the Israeli government.
Little is known about the details of the plan currently under discussion, with both the Israeli and US teams keeping mum about the proposals under consideration.
That has led to widespread speculation regarding the dimensions of the sovereignty plan, including reports citing unnamed Israeli, American, and Palestinian Authority officials which have pushed a number of widely varying scenarios, ranging from the possibility that Israel will only apply sovereignty to several large settlement blocs, dropping plans to include the Jordan Valley – to a report by Channel 11 Tuesday night which suggests Israel is negotiating with the US to include more fledging Israeli settlements in the map, in exchange for waving sovereignty over other areas. READ MORE
