Why does Israel want to annex the West Bank? | Start Here

Let's talk about Israel taking over the West Bank. They have occupied it for decades. The difference this time is that Israel

want

s to make it official. But the Palestinians call it illegal land grabbing. The Arab League, most European countries and the United Nations are also against it. So what would

annex

ation mean for residents of the occupied West Bank? What's in it for Israel? And what do the US elections have to do with it? When it comes to understanding news from Israel and Palestine, it helps to look at a map. The fact that the map changes all the time is part of the problem.

This is what it looks like today. This part is considered Israel. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are under Palestinian control. The real power, however, is in the hands of Israel. Those Palestinian territories are under Israeli military occupation. And it is Israel that decides who and what enters or leaves and much more. And this agreement is considered illegal under international law. Now, the map has not always been like this. This was Palestine before 1948. Over time, Israel expanded by winning wars, moving borders and building settlements. The focus now is the occupied West Bank. In more than 50 years, Israel built at least 250 settlements.

They are home to more than 600,000 Israeli settlers. And all of these complexes are connected by roads that only Israelis can use. It means Palestinians are trapped in a patchwork of land blocked by Israeli separation walls and with limited freedom to travel. They have to go through Israeli military checkpoints. And now Israel

want

s to

annex

part of that territory, which means it will extend its sovereignty over the lands it already occupies. It is now unclear which parties the Israeli government is looking at. But it could be up to 30% of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley. Maybe more.

And the Palestinians see that only one way. Let's understand what life is like for Palestinians living in the West Bank. So what will annexation change? Well, some Palestinians say, not much. But others think that life for them will be much more difficult. They fear more evictions. More displaced Palestinians and even fewer rights. One of the biggest concerns of the Palestinians is the annexation of the Jordan Valley. It will give the Israeli army a strategic point of view. Complete view and control over the area plus full access to the Jordan River. It also means surrounding the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and cutting off their access to water.

Palestinian farmers in the West Bank say they barely get enough water. Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley receive almost 20 times more water than they do. All of these issues risk upsetting Israel's neighbors. Like Jordan. So what is Israel's justification? Well, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

does

n't even call it annexation. He calls it applying sovereignty over Jewish settlements. It's something he always wanted to do. He has made it a campaign promise in the last three elections. But it's not just about Netanyahu. The Israeli position has always been that the country faces the threat of attack and that the land they are taking is historically theirs.

In practice, annexation also facilitates the construction of more settlements. Normally it is the Israeli Ministry of Defense that approves construction. But if Israel treats the occupied West Bank lands as if they were its own settlement, construction would be reduced to local red tape. All of these plans were supposed to go ahead in July. But they are on hold for many reasons. Details about the annexation have not yet been worked out. And Netanyahu's coalition partner Benny Gantz says he would prefer to focus on fighting the coronavirus at least for now. Even Americans want more debate. But t

here

is no doubt that they are on his side.

In fact, annexation is part of the Trump administration's plan for the region, what the president calls his deal of the century. Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, crafted the plan, which he says offers a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side. But the Palestinians were not consulted. And they don't believe it. The plan promises a future Palestinian state in exchange for Israel annexing large parts of the West Bank. The Palestinians rejected the deal then... ...and they still do now. T

here

is also a presidential election in the United States. That's in November.

And many analysts say Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to seal the deal in case Trump is eliminated. The challenge will be maintaining that momentum in the face of near-universal condemnation. Even some Israeli settlers are unhappy with the annexation. But for different reasons. Because Trump's Middle East plan gives the Palestinians a state of their own, however small and disjointed it may be. And that's why many Palestinians we've spoken to say that the idea of ​​reaching some kind of two-state solution has been a failure for a long time. It's a different dynamic that could give Israel the political space to move forward with annexation.

Which many Palestinians expect Israel to do anyway. Palestinians say it's about Israel's record. That's something they know well. They do not see annexation as a particular moment or date, but rather as decades of Israeli policy that have gone unchallenged. And right now they don't see that changing. For more information on the annexation plans, I recommend visiting the Al Jazeera website and clicking on the interactive tab. The AJ Labs team has done the math and produced some really informative maps that help illustrate what's happening in the West Bank. I'll see you all next week.