An Israeli Cabinet minister said Monday Israel could annex more of the West Bank if Palestinians declared statehood without concluding a peace agreement. “If the Palestinians take such a unilateral line, Israel should also consider ... passing a law to annex some of the settlements,” Environment Minister Gilad Erdan, a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Israel Radio. Erdan, of the premier's rightwing Likud party, told public radio that the Palestinians were “playing with fire,” and that the move was “a storm in a teacup, an internal maneuver aimed at boosting the image of (President) Mahmoud Abbas.” Without setting a timeframe, Palestinian officials said Sunday the Palestinians planned to go to the UN Security Council in an effort to secure international support for an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. “Everything is open ... it could begin at stopping the transfer of money that the Israeli government currently transfers to the Palestinian Authority,” he said, referring to tax payments Israel collects on the Authority's behalf under interim peace deals.
