Arab newspaper A-Sharq al-Awsat reported that a spokesman for the US secretariat said his country was "ready to recognize the application of Israeli sovereignty and its legal system in the territories that the president's vision sees as part of the Jewish state" • The spokesman added that Israel is expected to open negotiations with the Palestinians

• Children in a settlement in the Jordan Valley // Photo: Miri Tzahi

The London-based Arab newspaper "A-Sharq al-Awsat" reported Tuesday morning that a spokesman for the US secretariat has announced that his country is preparing to recognize the application of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, according to President Donald Trump's vision document published last year. 

"As we have made clear in the past, we intend to recognize Israeli action that will expand Israeli sovereignty and apply Israeli law to the territories that, according to the president's vision, will pass to Israeli sovereignty," the spokesman was quoted as saying. 

Netanyahu: "In a few months we will be able to exercise sovereignty" // Photo: PM

"The move should be in the context and with the Israeli government's agreement to negotiate with the Palestinians, in accordance with President Trump's vision. This is an unprecedented opportunity for the Palestinians," the spokesman continued. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would reaffirm its sovereignty in Judea and Samaria in a few months in accordance with President Trump's peace plan. Netanyahu spoke in a special broadcast by the Government Press Office (GPO) to mark the 100th anniversary of the San Remo Conference, which has sponsored the Balfour Declaration internationally, and whose decision is to date the legal basis for Israel's existence. 

In brief, in English, Netanyahu said that "the resolution of the San Remo Conference provided international backing that the Jewish people were not a foreign occupier in his ancestral land and that the Land of Israel was our historic homeland."

Netanyahu added that for decades he has been fighting those who have wanted to deny the millennial relationship and the fight has borne fruit. "Three months ago, the Trump administration's peace plan recognized the historic rights that Israel has in Judea and Samaria and afforded the possibility of applying Israeli sovereignty to Israeli settlement and the Jordan Valley, this right and to celebrate another historic moment in Zionist hysteria," Netanyahu said. 

Recall that, according to the coalition agreement between Blue and White and the Likud, the prime minister will be able to bring about the government's approval and the introduction of sovereignty from July 1.

"Annexation of the West Bank - a decision Israel must make"

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at a press conference last week that "annexing parts of the West Bank should be an Israeli decision," adding that the US administration will pass its views on the matter privately to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

"As for annexing the West Bank, Israelis will eventually make those decisions," Pompeo told reporters. "This is an Israeli decision. And we will work closely with them to share our views on the issue."

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas responded to Pompeo's comments, saying: "If Israel annexes any part of our territory we will not sit back," adding, "We have informed all international parties, including the US government and the Israeli government, that we will not oppose if it announces annexation of any part. From our surface, and we will consider all agreements and understandings between us to be totally null and void, relying on the decisions of the National Council and the Central Committee. "

In addition, the secretary of state said he was very happy about the establishment of the unity government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue Ben Benni Gantz.