The hopes of Israeli settlers for the annexation of the West Bank are growing

Israeli settlers in the West Bank have welcomed the victory of Republican Donald Trump and his selection of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for the post of United States ambassador to Israel. They hope to annex the West Bank and even build settlements in the Gaza Strip

Kedumim is a community in the northern part of the West Bank, built in the mid-1970s. Daniella Weiss, a leader in this community, and her children were among the first Jewish families to settle there, living in tents, without running water.

Now, she hopes that US President-elect Donald Trump will accept the annexation of West Bank settlements and not allow the creation of a Palestinian state.

"If the American president says 'I will give you a gift. I will give you sovereignty, but you will have to leave something aside'. I say, no, everything is ours. The reason for this is because this is God's promise to Abraham," said Weiss.

The Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, also lives there. He has predicted that in 2025, Israel will annex what is known as Area C or the 60 percent of the West Bank that contains Jewish settlements. Over 500,000 settlers live there. 2.5 million Palestinians live mainly in areas A and B of the West Bank, which are under partial or full control of the Palestinian Authority.

The Israeli annexation of this territory was seen as a goal of the first administration of President Trump after recognizing Israeli control over the Golan Heights. Trump's nominee for ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has long been a staunch supporter of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Like the Israeli settlers, he refers to the territories by their biblical name, Judea and Samaria.

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"I recognize Judea and Samaria as part of Israel. I believe it is important to understand that there are more Jews living in Judea and Samaria than most people think and that these numbers are significant. It is an important part of Israel's security," Huckabee said.

Some analysts, including those living in the West Bank, have said Israel should be wary of unilaterally annexing land.

"If it is really thought that sovereignty is something that can make Israel really safe, and I agree with this position, it should be done in a smart way and in cooperation with the American administration," said Hodaya Karish Hazony, correspondent of the newspaper of hard line, 'Makor Rishon'.

Other settlers worry that the decision to annex part of the West Bank could cause further unrest.

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"I personally support annexation, but I just don't want it to divide society again. There is already a strong settler presence here, but the left is against it. The division between us weakens us," said Hanan Moses, professor of political science at Herzog University.

Some settler leaders, including Daniella Weissin, want to go beyond annexing the West Bank. They say they are already preparing to rebuild Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip for Jews who were evacuated in 2005.