Israel’s official announcement that measures to annex all settlements in the West Bank will begin in early July marks a serious turning point in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We are not only talking about a unilateral measure. We are also talking about destroying the peace process and the end of the two-state solution.
The plan undermines all previous international efforts to achieve security and stability through a just and comprehensive peace in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Charter and principles of the UN.
Israeli reports indicate that the relevant authorities are in the process of drawing up maps of the West Bank territories in order to reach agreements with the US Administration in the framework of the “deal of the century.”
Such an approach seeks to change the reality of the situation by annexing large parts of the West Bank to bring it under full Israeli sovereignty. In doing so, international legitimacy is perfectly sidestepped.
Moreover, there is a remarkable lack of will on the part of the Palestinian and Arab parties. In response, President Mahmoud Abbas has announced a breach of all agreements and arrangements with Israel and the US, as well as of all obligations under those agreements, including the security agreements and the Oslo agreement of 1993, which amounts to a firm political stance.
However, this places the authority in a much more precarious situation. This might in fact serve the interest of the Israeli side. The Israelis can once again claim that there is no partner for peace and that they have acted out of a lack of responsibility on the Palestinian side in managing the conflict.
By withdrawing from all agreements and understandings with Israel and the US, the Palestinian Authority could also jeopardize its own legitimacy. The US could then withhold its recognition of the Palestinian Authority, at least as the sole representative of the Palestinian people.
Put another way, much of their ability to communicate officially with the global community and institutions and to present their positions and demands would be forfeited, leading to a reversal of the situation and political losses for the cause.
Nonetheless, I do not think that Israel will respond to Mahmoud Abbas’ decision with a similar disengagement towards the Palestinian Authority, because it needs it for political, security and economic reasons.
Indeed, the Palestinian question is facing a most complicated ordeal. The moment requires rapid Arab solidarity and coordination to build a unified stand so as to determine the measures to address the Israeli decision.
In particular, the Netanyahu-Gantz government is taking advantage of the painful circumstances of international relations due to the coronavirus pandemic to push through its plan to capture the rest of the Palestinian territories.
The government makes no secret of its conviction that conditions are propitious to “write another glorious chapter in Zionist history. ” Part of the reason for this conviction is that the government knows that the international community will not be able to respond effectively to Israeli behavior. Its action will boil down to a few declarations of rejection, denunciation and condemnation.
Arabs and Palestinians have all been in a real political stalemate since the Israeli decision. There is no cause for optimism.
In the face of the schism among Palestinians, all steps and efforts to re-establish and remedy it are failing. Since the 2011 troubles, an Arab strategic weakness has persisted, accentuated by the after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic, a source of further concern and unrest.
Arab countries are striving to regain their national role and resume the path of solidarity. Certainly, the conditions declared for a Palestinian State cannot be accepted by the Palestinians.
Netanyahu says that the “deal of the century” sets out ten conditions that he himself describes as “harsh. ” The Palestinians must accept them, if they want an entity in the occupied West Bank, he demands. He adds conditions such as “accepting Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank, unifying Jerusalem (under full Israeli sovereignty), not allowing any (Palestinian) refugees to return, and not dismantling the settlements.”
The Palestinians must recognize that Israel “control security in all areas,” and “If they [Palestinians] agree to all that [Netanyahu’s conditions], then they’ll have an entity of their own that President Trump defines as a state.” Netanyahu himself acknowledges that this is “a historic opportunity for changing the tide of history.”
All previous efforts were based on mutual concessions by both sides to the conflict, he said. Things can now move in the direction of strict unilateral (Palestinian) concessions, he added. Realistically, this can get through politically, given regional and international circumstances. But it will not turn the page on the historic conflict.
The Israeli Government’s ambition to change the face of the Middle East with this plan, as General Gantz has said, can only find its way to light through blood, something that the Arab side seeks to avoid and to end the conflict in a civilized manner, according to the two-state solution formula and international legitimacy resolutions, which are absent from this unilateral approach.
Netanyahu’s words about an historic opportunity for Israel that can’t be missed ignore the disastrous consequences of the proposed annexation of the occupied West Bank.
The plan presents conflict as an alternative to peace. It undermines what remains of regional security and stability. But it mostly offers extremist groups a kiss of life. Terrorism and extremism are gaining ground and the whole world will once again have to pay the price.
