US Urges Israel to Make a Gesture to Palestinians to ‘Offset’ Annexation

Netanyahu vows to keep planning for annexation

July 1 was the most recently announced annexation date for Israel to seize wide swathes of Palestine, but signs are that won’t actually see anything happening. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to keep working on annexation.

Netanyahu has planned to claim much of the West Bank, including the entire Jordan Valley, though some reports are that the US has sought him to limit how much he takes at once, to avoid angering the Palestinians or precluding future talks.

Moreover, the US is now urging Israel to make some concessions to the Palestinians meant to offset anger at the annexation. This could include redefining some land in the West Bank as out of the military run Area C, or granting Palestinians some building permission in some areas.

That’s going to be tough for Netanyahu, because even minor concessions will be unpopular with politically powerful settler groups. Any valuable considerations would leave a door open for possible Palestinian statehood, something the settlers would oppose loudly.

 

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.