Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed annexing up to 30 percent of the land in the Palestinian West Bank, territory that has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967. The plan for formal annexation would initially focus on land under the existing 132 illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley, where some 430,000 settlers live.
Netanyahu, who has been indicted on corruption charges and faces trial, is acting now in order to take advantage of President Trump’s endorsement of annexation. According to polls, Trump is likely to lose a second term in the November 2020 presidential election.
Palestinians are implacably opposed to annexation, which violates international law, claiming a historical right to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in which they plan to build a future independent state. The foreign ministers of Egypt, France, Germany and Jordan have all urged Israel to abandon plans for annexing land in the occupied West Bank, warning such action could have “consequences” for future relations. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Ramzy Baroud, a Palestinian-American and editor of the Palestine Chronicle. Here, he examines the forces driving Netanyahu’s decision on annexation and the consequences if he should proceed.
RAMZY BAROUD: So Netanyahu is facing this kind of dilemma. You know, Trump could be there for another year or maybe more, but he doesn’t know and he doesn’t want to take that chance. Now he’s able to get exactly what he wants from the Trump administration, courtesy of the work of Jared Kushner, Friedman, (Jason Greenblatt) and all the rest. And he fears that if he does not seal the deal now and get exactly what he wants – like he managed to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in violation of international law. He managed to get an American acceptance of the illegal Israeli annexation of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Americans are trying to help him redefine the term Palestinian refugee altogether, so that Palestinians do not enjoy and do not ever receive the right to return under international law. So it’s kind of something so strange and massive happening as far as American support for Israel.
If he does not take advantage of this annexation, he might end up being blamed by future Israeli politicians and historians, saying “You had a golden opportunity. And now we are back to the old days to the old status quo of (Obama) and Clinton and so forth, right? So this is your chance to take it.” And this is why, you know, there is this rush happening in Israel right now: Let’s take exactly what we want and we will deal with the consequences when they happen. This is far better than not taking that opportunity when we have it.
SCOTT HARRIS: Ramzy, I did want to ask you, what do we know about the concerns expressed or opposition that has been expressed by the European Union, China, Russia, the Arab League? What kinds of warnings are coming out from these nations to Netanyahu if he decides to take this action of annexation?
RAMZY BAROUD: Right. So we are looking here at two different realities. One is that what Netanyahu wants to achieve. And the other is what the international community – save the United States – don’t want him to do. And for Palestinians, both of these realities are quite problematic, frankly, because on one hand, if annexation goes through, it’s another confirmation of Israel, of disrespect for international law. More suffering, more humiliation for Palestinians and denial of understanding of political and human rights aspirations.
But on the other hand, if we carefully look at the position of the international community, even though it may appear positive of times, in reality, they are asking Netanyahu not to annex and to go back to the status quo. But the problem is the status quo is very problematic to begin with because the status quo is that of apartheid, that of military occupation. And that is defacto practical annexation.
So Palestinians cannot really exist with any of these two realities. So the international community’s position against Netanyahu’s annexation is welcomed of course. It’s welcomed in the sense that it’s about time that someone saw Jared Kushner – [does] not speak with all the humanity. I don’t know what has emboldened and empowered that clique in Washington, D.C. That’s a whole different subject, but you cannot seal the fate of the entire nation just because you think you can. That’s a good message. That’s strong, but on the other hand, so now what? What can the European Union do, you know, aside from statements? I was very particularly happy that the Vatican has this done something that they’ve never done before. They summoned the American and Israeli embassy in one day to the Vatican. And they had very strong words for them regarding annexation.
But on the other hand, what is the use of mere words when the European Union is one of the largest trade partners with Israel and they refuse to sanction Israel and they refuse to enforce international law on Israel in any shape or form. What is the point of that opposition if it’s not backed up by real action on the ground. So it’s a good step, but a lot more is actually needed. And this has been the dilemma of this so-called Palestinian-Israeli conflict for many years – it’s that we all know what is right and what’s wrong. International law is very clear regarding the illegality of the occupation and violations of the human rights, but no one has had the courage and the willingness to take this a bit further and to enforce any meaningful measures against Israel so that they would relent. And of course, part of that is because of the American support. But the other part is because of the lack of European and Western interest in actually rocking the boat and taking their critique a step further.
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