Israel's intelligence minister proposed on Monday annexing five West Bank settlements into the Jerusalem municipality,
Yisrael Katz is advocating that West Bank settlers in the five towns be able to vote in Jerusalem municipal elections.
The minister also proposed removing around 100,000 Palestinians from the city's population.
Most of the international community considers the status of Jerusalem to be undefined, waiting until final status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to determine the city's status. Israel argues that the city is its undivided capital.
Some of the West Bank settlements that would be annexed sit at least six miles from Jerusalem.
"Those settlements, those towns -- Maale Adumim, Gush Etzion, Givat Zeev, Beitar Illit and Efrat -- will become part of Jerusalem but without changing their status -- without putting the Israeli sovereignty on those places," Katz said, as reported by AFP.
At the same time, around 100,000 people living in Palestinian neighborhoods outside the Israeli separation barrier surrounding the city would be removed from the city's census, with a new municipality built for them, Katz added.
The move would make Jerusalem's official demographic balance significantly more Jewish.
Most countries deem Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal. Israel disputes the charge, arguing that the status of the land is "disputed."
Many Israeli politicians think the largest settlement blocks in the West Bank will become part of Israel in any future peace deal.
"I am a hawk, but a clever hawk, a humanitarian hawk," Katz, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, said.
He said the bill would be discussed this week by the cabinet, but did not as yet have the full support of Netanyahu.
The far-right Jewish Home party has proposed unilaterally annexing Ma'ale Adumim on the outskirts of Jerusalem into Israel, a move that would draw firm condemnation from the international community.
A number of countries, including France, the European Union, and Turkey, have condemned Israel's plans to develop 1,500 new settlement homes in east Jerusalem. They that the decision threatens the two-state solution and undermines trust necessary for peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
"France calls on the Israeli authorities to reconsider the permits issued in recent days for plans to build more than 1,500 housing units in settlements in East Jerusalem," a statement from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said.
The statement also expressed Frances' concern over "information that more construction will be approved in the coming days."
"These decisions seriously threaten the two-state solution," it said.
French President Emmanuel Macron, during a visit with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris last week, reiterated France's position that "there is no viable alternative to a two-state solution," and its condemnation of Israel's settlement building, which he noted, has reached "unprecedented levels" since the beginning of the year.
The European Union had also issued a statement condemning the plans, saying that it "expects both sides to engage in a meaningful process towards a negotiated two-state solution, the only way to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of both parties, and stands ready to support them in this endeavor, together with international and regional partners."
Turkey also issued a statement condemning the "advancement of the approval process for 1,500 additional units in the illegal settlements."
"These illegitimate steps, by violating the basic principles of international law, harm the basis for the two-state solution," it said, according to AFP.
