Benjamin Netanyahu intends to draw the practical conclusions from the "Vision" by Donald Trump for a " peace " Israeli-Palestinian. Tuesday January 28, in Washington, the Israeli Prime Minister thanked his 'Friend' American for his recognition of the "Sovereignty" from Israel over the Jordan Valley and across the West Bank settlements, "Small and large".
Then, in the euphoria of the evening, the office of Mr. Netanyahu announced that it could present as early as Sunday, in the Council of Ministers, a proposal for a decree establishing the annexation of these territories. There is no guarantee that this will be legally possible for a transitional government, suspended from legislative elections scheduled for March 2. But we must weigh this eagerness, which is a race to the bottom.
For more than thirteen years in power, Mr. Netanyahu had "managed" the conflict rather than trying to resolve it. He had managed to maintain the status quo over control of the Palestinian territories conquered by Israel in 1967, but failed to delegitimize the Palestinian claim to these lands. This prudence, bordering on inaction, was his political legacy, which he is ready to rebuild today.
War crimes
This literate man steeped in history cannot ignore the consequences of annexation, a marginal project ten years ago. It would break a dike between the Israeli rule of law and the military occupation regime in force in the Palestinian territories, the term of which remains suspended from a negotiated settlement to the conflict. It threatens the democratic and predominantly Jewish character of Israel, by raising the question of the plight of Palestinians residing in the annexed areas. Can they be granted full Israeli citizenship?
The annexation would finally put the country at fault before the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, announced in December, five years after being seized by the Palestinian Authority, her intention to investigate war crimes attributed to Israel in Gaza and in the context of colonization in the West Bank.
However, Israel has already embarked on the path of annexation, with counted steps. As early as 2017, the central committee of Netanyahu’s party, the Likud, had voted in favor of unrestricted construction in settlements in the West Bank and the application of Israeli sovereignty. Accelerating since 2015, the Knesset has strived, law after law, to forge unbreakable ties to the colonies. The Israeli human rights NGO Yesh Din has identified sixty projects aimed at legislating on these lands. Six were adopted.
