Netanyahu: Palestinians in Jordan Valley Won’t Be Citizens

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley will remain in what he described as an “enclave” after Israel annexes the territory and will not be granted Israeli citizenship.

Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with plans to annex the Jordan Valley and Jewish communities in Yehudah and Shomron, in line with President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan, a process that could begin as early as July 1.

In an interview with the Yisrael Hayom newspaper, Netanyahu said Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, including residents of the city of Jericho, would remain under limited Palestinian self-rule, with Israel having overall security control.

“They will remain a Palestinian enclave,” he said. “You’re not annexing Jericho. There’s a cluster or two. You don’t need to apply sovereignty over them. They will remain Palestinian subjects, if you will. But security control also applies to these places.”

The Trump plan would grant the Palestinians limited statehood over scattered enclaves surrounded by Israel if they meet a long list of conditions. Israel has embraced the plan, while the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of Yehudah and Shomron,, has angrily rejected it and cut ties with the U.S. and Israel.

Netanyahu said that if the Palestinians accept all the conditions in the plan, including Israel maintaining overall security control, “then they will have an entity of their own that President Trump defines as a state.”

Under a coalition agreement reached last month, Netanyahu can bring his annexation plans before the government as early as July 1.

The Palestinian Authority has said it is no longer bound by any agreements signed with Israel and the U.S., and says it has cut off security coordination with Israel. Neighboring Jordan, a close Western ally and one of only two Arab states to have made peace with Israel, has warned of a “massive conflict” if Israel proceeds with annexation.