July 1 was supposed to be the start of Israel’s annexation of the West Bank, but it didin’t happen. With no more news on it by week’s end, many are wondering what is going to come next, and what it means for Israel and Palestine.
For months, everything has been effectively on hold waiting for what was going to happen here. Netanyahu continues to insist annexation is imminent, but it’s not clear that remains the case or indeed if annexation is even on the table anymore.
Politically, Netanyahu wouldn’t want to admit failure on annexation, but keeping his coalition together could be a challenge, with many partners fearing annexation is a step too far, and urging caution.
Palestinians may look to reserrt themselves after the annexation panic, though so long as Netanyahu can credibly claim annexation is coming, they will likely try to avoid doing anything too major. Netanyahu’s aversion to a Palestinian state is well known, but until annexation happens, they might still find an option to negotiate.
If Palestinians want to lose it all, they need to keep muttering “peace process” and “two-state solution.”
They should want to lose it all. The two state solution was an Israeli/American idea to dispose of the Palestinians expelled from Israel. Palestinians came to it reluctantly, as the best of a bad situation.
So now they can’t get it? Fine. One state solution, equal rights for all, and a civil rights movement supported by the Western World including many Americans, including many American Jews.