JERUSALEM, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he plans to annex "all" the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank if he wins Tuesday's elections.
"I intend to impose Israeli sovereignty on all blocs and settlements and sites of importance to the Jewish heritage," the prime minister told Army Radio.
He said that settlements, such as Kiryat Arba next to the Palestinian city of Hebron, "will be part of the state of Israel."
He added that he told U.S. President Donald Trump about his plan, adding that the White House will present its plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians "shortly after the elections."
Netanyahu, who is on a re-election campaign, has intensified his right-wing rhetoric over the past days, addressing his right-wing electoral base.
Last week, he pledged to begin annexing the Jordan Valley and some of the Dead Sea, an area comprising some 22 percent of the West Bank, "right after the elections."
His remark sparked international condemnations, including the Palestinian Authority.
Before Israel's previous elections in April, Netanyahu also vowed to annex the Jordan Valley, but has taken no steps to do so.
Israel seized the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war and has kept its control over these lands ever since, despite international criticism.
