Netanyahu's annexation plan turning into fiasco
With the Americans losing interest and on the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis, the West Bank annexation plan of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to turn into his greatest diplomatic fiasco.
“Right now, I put the chances of Israeli annexation of any part of the West Bank at low to nonexistent,” a top Israeli security official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “There are too many conditions and circumstances that have to occur and ripen before that can happen.”
The first condition is a green light from Washington, which is currently nowhere in sight. US President Donald Trump appears to have lost interest in the issue he so enthusiastically promoted in January, although he has not said the final word. “In a few weeks, Trump might be persuaded that what he needs in order to erode the Democrats’ lead is more support of evangelical voters, and then he might suddenly restart the whole event,” said the top Israeli official. “Right now, we don’t think that [restarting annexation move] will happen.”
However, annexation does not depend solely on Trump. Even if the US president renews the green light for the move that he gave as part of his plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a host of other obstacles to realization of his dream and hoped-for legacy. Some of them are homemade.
“The coronavirus crisis has completely reshuffled the deck,” a senior Israeli diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “Public interest in annexation — which was low to begin with — has waned further and no one can be bothered with it right now. People are focused on trying to make a living, avoiding economic collapse. Rarely have Israelis been so disinterested in other things and focused totally on the economy, and Netanyahu knows it.”
