Overview

• At a Jerusalem press conference, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich displayed a map envisioning Israeli sovereignty over most of the West Bank, excluding six major Palestinian cities such as Ramallah and Nablus.
• Media accounts describe his proposal as covering roughly 82% of the territory with a stated goal of securing maximum land with minimal Palestinian population to foreclose a future Palestinian state.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not approved the plan and is set to convene senior ministers on Thursday to weigh responses to expected Western recognition of Palestine at the UN this month.
• The UAE publicly labeled annexation a red line that would undercut the Abraham Accords, while Emirati officials privately warned the White House that the push could unravel regional integration, according to Axios.
• Israeli officials say options under discussion range from targeted moves like annexing the Jordan Valley to broader steps such as taking Area C, with any such action expected to draw broad international condemnation.