Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s administration is reportedly preparing to announce the formal annexation of the West Bank within the next few weeks, as indicated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh.

Hersh notes that Israel has been significantly supported by military aid and funding from Washington, and is intensifying efforts to relocate Palestinians from northern Gaza to the southern part of the territory. Additionally, the religious factions that hold significant influence in Netanyahu’s cabinet are pushing for complete control over the occupied Palestinian territories.

A well-informed official from Washington informed Hersh that the Israeli government plans to officially annex the West Bank imminently—potentially within two weeks. This action is seen as an attempt to eliminate discussions surrounding a two-state solution and to persuade some skeptical Arab nations to reconsider their financial support for Gaza’s reconstruction efforts, as detailed in Hersh’s recent Substack article.

If this information is accurate, the annexation would align with the final weeks of President Joe Biden’s administration, establishing a new “reality on the ground” by the time President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January. During his previous term, Trump acknowledged Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights and relocated the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Israel initiated military action against Hamas, the militant group based in Gaza, last October, following a series of lethal incursions into Israeli territory by the group. The assault on October 7 resulted in approximately 1,100 Israeli fatalities, with around 250 individuals taken hostage.

Since the commencement of the Israeli military campaign, local authorities report that nearly 44,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in Gaza, with an additional 104,000 injured.

In addition, the Israeli military and police have intensified their operations against Palestinians in the West Bank, which is governed by Fatah, a Palestinian faction that opposes Hamas.

The West Bank and Gaza were annexed by Jordan and Egypt, respectively, after the 1949 conflict that led to the establishment of the State of Israel, which gained control over most of the Mandate for Palestine territory. Both regions were captured by Israel during the 1967 war. According to international law, the West Bank and Gaza are regarded as occupied territories, and numerous UN resolutions have advocated for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within these areas.

Hersh is a globally recognized investigative journalist who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1970 for uncovering the My Lai massacre and the subsequent cover-up by the US military during the Vietnam War. He has also reported on the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib and the CIA’s domestic surveillance activities. More recently, Hersh has accused the US of being responsible for the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022, a claim that has been denied by Washington.