Israel’s West Bank annexation stalls, for now, amid pandemic and political distractions

JERUSALEM — After months of buildup, Israelis and Palestinians had come to think of July 1 as “annexation day,” when Israel would proceed with its plan to formally absorb Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank into Israel proper.

But more than two weeks later, with both Israel and its key backer, the Trump administration, preoccupied by spiking coronavirus infections, no plan has emerged, leaving some here to wonder whether annexation day will ever come.