Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to bridge gaps with the United States and his main coalition partner over his pledged annexation of parts of the West Bank, a cabinet minister said on Thursday.
The remarks by Minister for Settlement Affairs Tzipi Hotovely pointed to difficulties Netanyahu could face in implementing the move in the territory soon, with a formal cabinet debate on the issue due to begin on July 1.
In line with a peace plan announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in January, Netanyahu has said he intends to extend Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank.
Palestinians seek the region, along with Gaza and East Jerusalem, for a state of their own.
They have called for international sanctions against Israel, and Arab and European countries have voiced concern over unilateral territorial moves that could jeopardize a two-state solution of a decades-old conflict.
“There are gaps between the Americans and us on this issue and between us and our senior partner in the unity government, Blue & White,” Hotovely told Army Radio.
Palestinians have rejected Trump’s plan, which envisages statehood, but with Israel keeping most of the settlements it has built on land captured during the 1967 Six-Day War.
A committee of U.S. and Israeli officials is drawing territorial lines in the West Bank under the Trump proposal.
“There is still no agreed map on this issue. It has to be agreed by parts of the government and by the American side,” Hotovely said.
A U.S. official said the coronavirus crisis had made it difficult for all members of the mapping committee to convene.