Let’s talk about Israel taking over the West Bank.
They’ve occupied it for decades.
The difference this time is Israel wants to make it official.
But Palestinians call it an illegal land grab.
The Arab League, most European countries
and the United Nations are against it too.
So what would annexation mean for people
in the occupied West Bank?
What’s in it for Israel?
And what does the US election have to do with it?
When it comes to understanding news
out of Israel and Palestine it helps to look at a map.
The fact that the map changes all the time
well that’s part of the problem.
Here’s what it looks like today.
This part is considered Israel.
The Gaza Strip and the West Bank
are under Palestinian control.
The real power, though, lies with Israel.
Those Palestinian territories are under
an Israeli military occupation.
And it’s Israel that decides who and what goes in or out
and a whole lot more.
And this arrangement is considered illegal
under international law.
Now the map hasn’t always looked like this.
This was Palestine before 1948.
Over time Israel expanded by winning wars
moving borders and building settlements.
The focus right now is the occupied West Bank.
In more than 50 years Israel’s built at least 250 settlements.
They’re home to more than 600,000 Israeli settlers.
And all those compounds are connected by roads
that only Israelis can use.
It means Palestinians are trapped
on a patchwork of land
blocked by Israeli separation walls
and with limited freedom to travel.
They have to get through Israeli military checkpoints.
And now Israel wants to annex some of that territory
meaning it will extend its sovereignty
over land it already occupies.
Now it’s unclear which parts
the Israeli government is eyeing.
But it could be as much as 30% of the West Bank
including the Jordan Valley.
Maybe more.
And the Palestinians see that only one way.
Let’s understand what life is already like for Palestinians
living in the West Bank.
So what will annexation change?
Well, some Palestinians say — not a lot.
But others think life for them is going to get much harder.
They fear more evictions.
More Palestinians displaced, and even fewer rights.
One of the biggest concerns for Palestinians
is the annexation of the Jordan Valley.
It’ll give the Israeli military a strategic vantage point.
Full view and control over the area
plus total access to the Jordan River.
It also means surrounding Palestinian territories
in the West Bank and cutting off their access to water.
Palestinian farmers in the West Bank
say they barely get enough water as it is.
Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley
receive almost 20 times more water than they do.
All of these issues risk upsetting Israel’s neighbours.
Like Jordan.
So what’s Israel’s justification?
Well, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
doesn’t even call it annexation.
He calls it applying sovereignty
over Jewish settlements.
It’s something he’s always wanted to do.
He’s made it a campaign promise
in the last three elections.
But it’s not just Netanyahu.
The Israeli position has always been that the country
faces the threat of attack
and that the land they’re taking is historically theirs.
Practically speaking annexation also
makes it easier to build more settlements.
Usually it’s Israel’s defence ministry
which approves construction.
But if Israel treats occupied West Bank land
as its own settlement construction would boil down
to local paperwork.
All these plans were supposed to go ahead in July.
But they’re on hold for lots of reasons.
The details about annexation still haven’t been worked out.
And Netanyahu’s coalition partner Benny Gantz
says he’d rather focus on fighting the coronavirus
for now at least.
Even the Americans want more discussion.
But there’s no question they’re onside.
In fact annexation is part of the Trump administration’s
plan for the region, what the president calls
his deal of the century.
Jared Kushner — his son-in-law and senior adviser
drew up the blueprint he says offers a two-state solution
for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side.
But the Palestinians weren’t consulted.
And they’re not buying it.
The plan promises a future Palestinian state
in exchange for Israel annexing
large parts of the West Bank.
The Palestinians rejected the deal then …
… and they still do now.
There’s also a US presidential election in the mix.
That’s in November.
And plenty of analysts say Prime Minister Netanyahu
is trying to seal the deal in case Trump is voted out.
The challenge will be to maintain that momentum
in the face of nearly universal condemnation.
Even some Israeli settlers aren’t happy with annexation.
But for different reasons.
Because Trump’s Middle East plan
gives the Palestinians a state their own
no matter how small and disjointed.
And that’s why many Palestinians we’ve spoken to
say the whole idea of reaching some kind of
two-state solution has been a non-starter for a long time.
It’s a different dynamic that could give Israel
the political space to forge ahead with annexation.
Which many Palestinians expect Israel to do anyway.
Palestinians say it’s about Israel’s track record.
That’s something they know well.
They don’t see annexation as a moment or a particular date
but as decades of Israeli policy that have gone unchallenged.
And right now they don’t see that changing.
To find out more about the annexation plans
I’d recommend visiting Al Jazeera’s website
and clicking on the interactives tab.
The AJ Labs team has crunched the numbers
and put together really informative maps
that help illustrate what’s going on in the West Bank.
I’ll see you all next week.