Occupied Jerusalem: US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to speak on Sunday for the first time since his inauguration, with Israel already taking advantage of his support by pushing through colony plans.
Netanyahu said he was to speak with the billionaire businessman-turned-president later in the day, while Israeli officials also approved hundreds of new colonist homes that had been postponed until after Trump took office.
Beyond that, hardline Israeli ministers were pushing a plan to unilaterally annex a large Jewish colony near Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, a move many say could badly damage prospects for a two-state solution.
One minister was reportedly promoting his own plan to annex a number of other colonies in the occupied Jerusalem area.
“This evening there will be a telephone conversation between President Trump and myself,” Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting.
“There are many issues between us, including the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the situation in Syria and the Iranian threat.”
Trump has pledged strong support for Israel and vowed during his campaign to recognise occupied Jerusalem as the country’s capital despite the city’s contested status.
Israeli right-wing politicians have welcomed his election, with hardliners who oppose a Palestinian state hoping it will allow them to move forward with their long-held goal of annexing most of the West Bank.
Former president Barack Obama’s administration repeatedly criticised Israeli colony building and declined to veto a December 23 UN Security Council resolution condemning it.
Trump called for the resolution to be vetoed.
The United States is Israel’s most important ally, providing it with more than $3 billion (Dh11 billion) per year in defence aid.
In an initial move following Trump’s inauguration, Israeli officials on Sunday approved building permits for 566 colonist homes in occupied east Jerusalem.
“The rules of the game have changed with Donald Trump’s arrival as president,” Occupied Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Meir Turjeman told AFP.
“We no longer have our hands tied as in the time of Barack Obama. Now we can finally build.”
A draft bill to annex the Maale Adumim colony was also expected to be discussed by ministers on Sunday.
Annexing the colony unilaterally would set off alarm bells globally, with many warning that it would be another step towards dividing the occupied West Bank between north and south, making a contiguous Palestinian state difficult to achieve.
But for some Israeli ministers, that is precisely the point. Key members of Netanyahu’s coalition oppose a Palestinian state.
