Is Israel Annexing Its Future?

Amid a continual and unresolved humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the Israeli Knesset has voted overwhelmingly in favor of annexing the West Bank. The vote was 71 in favor, 13 opposed, but it is merely symbolic (non-binding). The vote reflects that the majority of the Israeli government and the Israeli public support the idea of territorial control over the whole of Israel’s domain, including the West Bank. The circumstances Israelis find themselves in are by no means sudden. They are the culmination of failed peace talks and the aftermath of October 7th, which have led to the Israeli public’s disillusionment with peace and reconciliation.

With neither binding legislation to annex the West Bank nor new proposals to usher in peace, the future of the conflict remains unclear. A sudden annexation of the West Bank raises fundamental questions. The Israeli right is obsessed with annexation; however, that would create a situation where rights and citizenship would be bestowed upon millions of Palestinians. For the Kahanist right, giving Palestinians citizenship would create a demographic issue and threaten Israel’s Jewish foundation. Annexation could also extend sovereignty without granting rights, creating a system of apartheid. If many critics avoided the label of apartheid before a theoretical annexation, they would find it impossible to ignore while facing a population stripped of rights under the same jurisdiction. 

Unfortunately, Israel’s time is spent maintaining the status quo within the West Bank. Israel will continue turning a blind eye to settler violence, expand settlements, and when violence rises, go on saying Palestinians as a collective don’t desire peace. As I’ve stated previously in my blogs, the only true option is peace, but the prospect of peace has been dangerously sidelined. We must look toward the future and ask ourselves what we imagine the future of Israeli and Palestinian territory will look like.