Israel's Netanyahu Open to Annexing West Bank Settlements

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested annexing illegal West Bank settlements Wednesday, after lashing out at new European Union labeling standards that specifically identify settlement products.

“There’s all sorts of unilateral moves and sorts of directions. Wait and see,” Netanyahu was quoted as stating by the Times of Israel.

The vague comment appeared to suggest the Israeli government may consider annexations if the peace process with Palestinians remain stalled. The last round of direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians collapsed in 2014, with U.S. Special Envoy Martin Indyk largely blaming Israel.

Netanyahu's latest comments were made during the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference, when the Israeli leader described EU labeling of settlement products as “heinous.”

Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law, and not considered by the international community as part of Israel's sovereign territory.

New EU import guidelines require goods produced in the illegal settlements to be labeled separately to imports from Israel proper. While EU officials say the guidelines reflect firmly established international law, Netanyahu has compared the move to the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany.

“This is absolutely absurd. It’s morally abhorrent because on the soil of Europe, within living memory, Jewish products were labeled. Jewish stores were labeled,” he said.

Netanyahu's critics have responded to similar comments in the past by arguing comparing import protocols with systematic genocide may offend some Holocaust survivors.

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