Smotrich: Prepare for annexations

Finance Minister and Religious Zionism party leader Betzalel Smotrich told his Knesset faction today (Monday) that "I have given an instruction to the Settlement Administration at the Defense Ministry and the Civil Administration to prepare the needed foundation for applying sovereignty in Judea and Samaria."

Smotrich is not the only one seeking to take advantage of a much more pro-Israel administration with the victory of President-elect Donald Trump. According to reports in Israel Hayom, people in Prime Minister Netanyahu's circles are also looking at concrete, detailed plans to annex at least part of Judea and Samaria.

According to the reports, the plan is to concentrate on areas of relative Israeli national consensus - Maaleh Edumim, the Jordan Valley, and the Etzion Bloc - and then see if it's possible to expand from there.