(RT) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that if re-elected, he will annex the Jordan Valley, part of the occupied West Bank, and home to Israeli settlements. Speaking at a press conference in Ramat Gan on Tuesday, the Israeli leader promised to “apply Israeli sovereignty” to the Jordan Valley, which he described as “our eastern border, our defense wall.” The annexation of the Jordan Valley will be Netanyahu’s first step if elected next week, the Prime Minister said, with further land claims to come

after the publication of US President Donald Trump’s long-awaited Israel-Palestine peace plan. Netanyahu called the plan a “historic opportunity” to negotiate the future of the region with Trump. Though he did not address the matter directly, some observers took Netanyahu’s bold pronouncement as evidence that the annexation had been coordinated with Trump. However, the Israeli leader instead asked voters for the mandate to make Israel’s case to the US. “Who will negotiate with Trump, who will conscript him on our side?” he asked, “me or Lapid and Gantz?” referring to opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz. READ MORE