signed a letter stating that any such annexation would be an 'existential threat' both to Israel and Zionists in Great Britain, and have grave consequences for the Palestinians. Among the signatories were Holocaust survivor Sir Ben Helfgott, historians Sir Simon Schama and Simon Sebag Montefiore; former Conservative foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind; lawyer Anthony Julius; philanthropist Dame Vivien Duffield; scientist Lord Robert Winston; former MP Luciana Berger; Times columnist Daniel Finkelstein, and novelist Howard Jacobson. On June 29, 2020, it was revealed that Netanyahu's coalition partner Benny Gantz would not accept the proposed July 1, 2020 deadline to start annexing the West Bank. Gantz also announced that he would prefer that the Israeli government deal with the COVID-19 pandemic first. Despite not serving as prime minister, it was reported that Gantz's objection cast doubt on when a new deadline could be set. The same day, U.S. sources confirmed that West Bank annexation would not start by the planned July 1 deadline as well. In midyear a jurist of international law William Schabas filed a request with the International Criminal Court asking that it investigate the architects of the plan, naming Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mike Pompeo and Jared Kushner. See also Status of territories occupied by Israel in 1967 References Further reading West Bank Annexation Politics of Israel One-state solution