Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Saturday to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank if he wins the upcoming general election. His comments come just days before the closely-fought April 9 poll and could be seen as an appeal to rightwing voters, who do not believe in the feasibility of a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

"I will apply (Israeli) sovereignty, but I don't distinguish between settlement blocs and isolated settlements," he said in an interview with Channel 12 television. Settlements built on land occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War are deemed illegal by the international community and their ongoing construction is seen as a major barrier to peace. Annexation could prove to be the death knell for the two-state solution.