Author: Aaron David Miller
Affiliation: Carnegie Endowment, USA
Organization/Publisher: Foreign Affairs
Date/Place: June 30, 2020/USA
Type of Literature: Analysis
Word Count: 1792
Keywords: Israel, Annexation, Middle East, Palestine, Two-State Solution
Brief:
Israel’s annexation plan of the West Bank might begin very soon. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is going to take this step unilaterally to make sure that the real Palestinian State based on 1967 borders, with a capital in East Jerusalem, turns into a forgotten history. This decision has made the Middle East and other world leaders quite restless, and they are pleading with Netanyahu to reconsider this step. Netanyahu doesn’t have an entirely free hand to annex, but he has support from the coalition agreement to take the case to the cabinet. The author claims that Netanyahu’s best allies in this effort are the Palestinians themselves. He compares the Palestinian national movement with Noah’s ark—divided, dysfunctional and directionless, with Hamas and Fatah going in two different ways. Abbas has done much to advance Netanyahu’s campaign to close the door on meaningful Palestinian statehood. The Gulf States have been supportive to Netanyahu as well, because of the rising Iran and to also stay close to the Trump administration. Trump and his peace team have also extended their full support to Netanyahu to kill Palestinian Statehood. By annexing the West Bank territory, Netanyahu wants to leave the legacy of being the only Prime Minister who not only buried the two-state solution but annexed choice West Bank real territory.
By: Saima Rashid, CIGA Research Assistant