Tel Aviv, April 8 (RHC)-- Speaking just before the Israeli parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is considering formally annexing certain Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

In an interview with Israel's Channel 12 News, Netanyahu promised to annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank if elected for another term tomorrow, on Tuesday.  “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 [Israel’s] sovereignty,” he said.

He went on to say that “each settlement is Israeli and [we] will not hand it over to Palestinian sovereignty.”  The prime minister also told journalists that he would not “divide Jerusalem” and would “make sure we control the territory west of Jordan.”

The right-wing politician also argued against a two-state solution by saying that a Palestinian state would “endanger our existence.”  Earlier, Netanyahu said he’s made it clear to U.S. President Donald Trump that he was not ready to evacuate “a single person” from the West Bank settlements.  “All the settlements, without exception, those that are in blocs and those that aren’t, need to remain under Israeli sovereignty,” the prime minister said during a recorded interview.