Former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (New Right) urged the Israeli government to begin annexing Area C of Judea and Samaria, warning the country could miss a historic opportunity to do so if it pushed off annexation.
Speaking at the annual Jerusalem Post conference in the Israeli capital, Shaked said that Israel had been presented with a unique “window of opportunity” in the Trump administration, and must not miss its chance to create “facts on the ground”.
While Shaked expressed support for the White House’s plan to help develop the Palestinian Arab economy in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, calling it a “positive” move which would also benefit Israel, she added that Israel must not make any territorial concessions or permit the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Instead, the former Justice Minister said, the Jewish state must extend its sovereignty over Area C – the roughly 60% of Judea and Samaria which Israel retains full control over.
Turning to the upcoming elections, slated for September 17th, Shaked confirmed that she planned on running again, despite her loss in the April 9th election.
When asked by journalist Dana Weiss if she had decided to run again, Shaked responded: “Probably, yes.”
The former Justice Minister also said she would not ‘rule out’ any possible alliance with other right-wing parties, and suggested she may run again on the New Right ticket with former Education Minister Naftali Bennett.
“Not at all!”, said Shaked when asked if she had made up her mind not to run again with Bennett.
“Naftali Bennett and I are partners for many years. We are ideological partners, and I think that we did a revolution in Israeli politics. When we entered the Knesset, it was well-known that a Palestinian state would be established. Today, everyone is talking about annexation. We did some huge stuff, and I hope that we’ll be able to work together in the future.”
“I am not ruling out anything that can help create a big Right bloc.”