Israel is considering whether to annex large parts of the West Bank, with the U.S. government supporting and coordinating the annexation. What does this mean? How will this impact the daily lives of Palestinians and the prospect for peace? Read more and scroll down for opportunities to get involved.
Under President Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan, Israel would annex some 30 percent of the West Bank, then negotiate with Palestinians about the future of the rest if they meet various criteria set by Israel and the U.S.
Specifically, Israel would annex all or part of Area C, some 60 percent of the West Bank, while leaving Areas A and B to Palestinians. The peace process since Oslo set up an Area A of major Palestinian cities, Area B of smaller Palestinian towns, and Area C as mostly Palestinian villages and farmland, but also Israel’s settlements and military bases.
Without that contiguity, without any link to the outside world save through Israel, and without the other 60 percent of their land, this vast majority of West Bank Palestinians would be condemned to destitution. Eventual statehood for those millions is not guaranteed in Trump’s plan or Israel’s, and it would be a failed state economically anyway.
The far fewer 10-15 percent of West Bank Palestinians now living in Area C, still hundreds of thousands, would have other problems. Domestic Israeli law would allow broader confiscation of their lands, much like land has been confiscated in annexed East Jerusalem. It is unclear whether Israel would offer them citizenship, but with or without it they would be discriminated against as the Arab citizens of Israel, and permanent residents in East Jerusalem, already are.
Area C annexation is not a viable or just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s settlers would certainly gain more control over their own lives. Palestinians would have even less control than they have now. Their social, economic and cultural ties would be broken up, and movement between Palestinian areas would become even more difficult than today. Oppression would be the certainty for West Bank Palestinians, as Israelis keep control of many aspects of their lives whether annexed inside Israel or left outside Israel (as in Gaza).
CMEP’s executive director Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon says, “As Christians, we cannot support unilateral annexation; because peace must be negotiated between the parties directly involved – Israelis and Palestinians. As Americans, we believe the U.S. must neither foot the bill for annexation, nor provide diplomatic cover for it.”
