Annexation Plan Sparks Threat to Topple Israel Government
By Jonathan Ferziger  Jun 8, 2014 4:10 PM ET 

Photographer: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party holds the second-greatest number... Read More
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strongest coalition partner threatened to bring down the government if it tries to annex West Bank settlements following the breakdown of Mideast peace talks.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid, speaking at the annual Herzliya Conference on politics and security, also challenged Netanyahu to reveal a map showing how he would delineate the borders of Israel and a Palestinian state. Lapid’s Yesh Atid party holds the second-greatest number of parliamentary seats after the prime minister’s Likud-Yisrael Beitenu alliance.

“If there is any effort to annex even one settlement unilaterally, Yesh Atid will not just leave the government, it will bring it down,” Lapid said today. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, the government’s chief peace negotiator, said she would also withdraw her party’s support if Netanyahu tries to annex any part of the West Bank without Palestinian agreement.

The two coalition partners presented a united front in reaction to a proposal by Economy Minister Naftali Bennett to annex most of the West Bank in phases that would start with the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements near Jerusalem. While Netanyahu has not adopted the plan, Lapid said the prime minister’s push for renewed construction in existing settlements has led to an “unprecedented crisis” in relations with the U.S.

Bennett said that his proposal came as the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has failed and that “the world will get used to it in time.”

‘Enhanced Autonomy’

Bennett outlined a proposal for Israel to assume sovereignty over about 60 percent of the West Bank where more than 100 settlements are located, while giving “enhanced autonomy” to Palestinians in the rest of the territory.

The conference started on the same day that Pope Francis met Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Vatican for a group prayer session and private peace talks.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war, together with the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and east Jerusalem. While the United Nations considers the West Bank illegally occupied territory, Israel maintains it has legitimate claims to the land based on its historic ties with the Jewish people. The latest U.S.-backed effort to forge a peace agreement fell apart in April after almost nine months of negotiations.

Also speaking at the conference, the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, said Europe would provide an “unprecedented package” of financial incentives if Israelis and Palestinians reach a peace treaty.

He said the unspecified amount of funds would bring prosperity and “fundamentally change your future,” providing money for trade, infrastructure, environmental protection, energy and culture.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Ferziger in Tel Aviv at jferziger@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net Bernard Kohn, Tal Barak Harif