JERUSALEM, April 7 -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he would annex illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank if he wins another term in office, in an attempt to win over right-wing voters. He made the statement in -an interview with Israeli Channel 12 News on Saturday, three days before the April 9 election. Reuters news agency reported that he was asked why he had not extended sovereignty to West Bank settlements since Israel had annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights without international recognition during the 1967 war. "Who says that we won't do it? We are on the way and we are discussing it," Netanyahu said. "You are asking whether we are moving on to the next stage - the answer is yes, we will move to the next stage. I am going to extend [Israeli] sovereignty and I don't distinguish between settlement blocs and the isolated settlements." Mitchell Barak, an Israeli political pollster and analyst, said he classifies Netanyahu's comments as nothing more than election talk. "Whatever happens in the election, stays in the election. I don't think he has any real intention of [annexing settlements]. We don't know. It's highly unlikely that this will turn into policy," Barak said. "If voters see him embracing this policy, they may move to vote for him, but it's nothing more than an election gimmick at this point." However, many Palestinians have been taking his words seriously, including Aida Touma-Suleiman, a member of the Knesset (MK) running for the joint Arab Haddash-Ta'al party. On the eve of the last election in 2015, Netanyahu similarly made waves by stating that if he returned to the office he would never establish a Palestinian state, reversing his previous endorsement of a two-state solution. Since then, he has done precisely what he said, Touma-Suleiman said. "Everyone thought it was election talk. But for four years he has step by step almost accomplished the mission he stated … In my opinion, he is going to annex the settlements," Touma-Suleiman said. "I hope we'll be able to see a government that's more rational at least. I don't believe that Benny Gantz is an alternative. I don't believe that generals will bring hope to this country but I can see the damage that Netanyahu is doing, which is long-term damage and I would like to see it stopped immediately."
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