Israel Politics Settlers
In this Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020 photo, a view of the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Efraim on the hills of the Jordan Valley. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is eager to court the votes of the country’s influential West Bank settlers in critical elections next month. President’s Donald Trump’s Mideast plan seemed to be the key to ramping up their support. The plan envisions Israel’s eventual annexation of its scores of West Bank settlements — a long time settler dream. But in the weeks since it was unveiled, Netanyahu has stumbled over his promises to quickly carry out the annexation, sparking verbal attacks from settler leaders. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)