Trump Victory Spurs Israeli Talk of West Bank Annexation Some lawmakers and settlers are exploring the idea in the wake of the U.S. election By Rory Jones
http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-victory-spurs-israeli-talk-of-west-bank-annexation-1481106608
TEL AVIV—Emboldened by the election of Donald Trump in the U.S., some Israeli lawmakers and Jewish settlers are pushing the contentious notion of annexing parts of the West Bank, which could threaten the long-stated goal of establishing a separate Palestinian state.
Since the Oslo Accords of the 1990s, the U.S., Israel and Palestinians have sought the establishment of a Palestinian state in the rough boundaries of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A move to even partially annex the West Bank and impose Israeli law would depart from longstanding U.S. policy toward Israel, and would likely spark condemnation in Europe and parts of the Middle East.
But some of Mr. Trump’s campaign advisers have argued that the U.S. shouldn’t force a so-called two-state solution on the parties. The potential for a major shift in U.S. policy by the incoming Trump administration has stirred hopes of annexation among Jewish settlers.
“It’s easily doable,” said Eliana Passentin, 42, who lives in the settlement of Eli in the central West Bank. “I see it happening soon.”
The U.S. election has also changed the way Israeli officials discuss the status of the West Bank publicly.
“We can’t reach a Palestinian state. I oppose it, others favor it. But we all agree that it’s not going to happen tomorrow,” Naftali Bennett, the conservative leader of the Jewish Home party and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, said last month at a conference in Jerusalem after the election.
Mr. Bennett advocates giving Palestinians in West Bank cities limited autonomy and imposing Israeli law in parts of the territory, while boosting spending on infrastructure to improve the quality of life for Palestinians and Jewish settlers alike.
On Monday, the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, have preliminary approval to legislation proposed by Mr. Bennett’s party that would legitimize thousands of Jewish settler homes in the West Bank that are illegal under current Israeli law. The legislation still faces further votes in the Knesset.
Officials with the Palestinian Authority, which governs cities in the West Bank, condemn talk of Israeli annexation. The Gaza Strip is governed separately by the Islamist movement Hamas.
At the same time, a Trump administration could bring fresh perspective to the conflict, according to Shukri Bishara, minister of finance in the Palestinian Authority. “This conflict requires creative thinking,” he said.
The Palestinians plan to put forward a United Nations Security Council resolution before the end of the year that would label settlements illegal, officials said. They hope that the U.S., which has consistently vetoed resolutions Israel objects to, won’t oppose such a move.
Mr. Netanyahu’s official policy is to pursue a separate Palestinian state. But he has also overseen a 30% increase in the number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank to 413,000 since winning power for the second time in 2009, according to the Yesha Council, a nongovernmental group that represents settlements.
Mr. Netanyahu last month ordered ministers in his government to refrain from direct contact with the President-elect’s team, according to an Israeli official. The directive came after Israeli media reported that Mr. Bennett met in New York with Mr. Trump’s aides after the election and discussed abandoning the two-state solution.
A spokesman for Mr. Bennett wouldn’t confirm or deny that meetings took place. Mr. Trump’s office didn’t comment.
In a joint statement ahead of the election, Jason Greenblatt and David Friedman, who co-chaired an Israel policy committee in Mr. Trump’s campaign, said Jewish settlement building isn’t an obstacle to peace.
In a video posted on an Israeli media website before the election, Mr. Friedman also said that annexation would allow Israel to absorb Palestinians and still retain a Jewish majority.
It’s not clear how an Israeli annexation of even parts of the West Bank would be implemented, both practically and from the standpoint of Israeli and international law. CONTINUE AT SITE
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