In an interview with Israeli Channel 12 News three days ahead of the April 9 poll, Netanyahu was asked why he had not extended sovereignty to large West Bank settlements, as Israel did without international recognition in east Jerusalem al-Quds and the Golan Heights, both captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

“Who says that we won’t do it? We are on the way and we are discussing it,” Netanyahu said, Reuters reported.

“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.”

The right-wing prime minister, who has dominated Israeli politics for a generation, is fighting for his political survival against former top general Benny Gantz, a political novice campaigning on a centrist platform.

Netanyahu has cast Gantz as a weak leftist who would endanger Israel’s security by giving territorial concessions to the Palestinians.

But Netanyahu, who has fought the election campaign under the shadow of corruption allegations, is also competing for votes with far-right parties who advocate annexation. His comments are likely to appeal to hardline voters, who oppose ceding lands.

Palestinian leaders immediately reacted with anger.

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator and a close aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said: “Israel will continue to brazenly violate international law for as long as the international community will continue to reward Israel with impunity, particularly with the Trump Administration’s support and endorsement of Israel’s violation of the national and human rights of the people of Palestine.”

In Gaza, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri urged Abbas’s western-backed Palestinian Authority to halt its security cooperation with Israel in the occupied West Bank.

“Netanyahu’s dreams of annexing the West Bank will never be achieved and we will not allow that to happen,” he said.

“It is time for (the PA) to stop security coordination with the occupation, and to get united in the face of the challenges.”

WEST BANK

Settlements are one of the most heated issues in efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, frozen since 2014.

After decades of settlement-building, more than 400,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank, according to Israeli figures, among about 2.9 million Palestinians according to the Palestinian Statistics Bureau.

A further 212,000 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem al-Quds, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The Palestinians and many countries consider settlements to be illegal under the Geneva conventions that bar settling on land captured in war.

Netanyahu’s remarks follow a series of announcements and policy changes by US President Donald Trump that were seen to favor Israel.

In March, Trump broke with decades of international consensus by recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, territory Israel captured from Syria.

That followed his December 2017 decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel, and to move the US embassy there. Both moves delighted Israel, infuriated Palestinian and Arab leaders, and were opposed by most US allies.

With Trump’s moves on Jerusalem al-Quds and The Golan, the Israeli leader may feel emboldened to advocate for annexation.

US officials have said they would unveil a long-awaited Trump administration Middle East peace plan after the Israeli election, but prospects to restart negotiations appear dim.

The Palestinians have been boycotting the Trump administration over its Jerusalem moves and other recent decisions they view as pro-Israel bias.