Hamid Khoshayand – Regional Affairs Expert
The parliament of the Israeli regime, known as the Knesset, amidst international efforts to stabilize a ceasefire in Gaza, has preliminarily approved, by a margin of just one vote, the controversial bill for the annexation of the Jordanian West Bank, which pertains to the annexation of illegal Zionist settlements in the West Bank. Of course, this bill, which was approved by 25 votes to 24, must pass three more stages after parliamentary approval to become law.
The Knesset’s approval of the draft of two laws for the annexation of the West Bank and the Ma’ale Edumim settlement in East Jerusalem has been met with widespread condemnation from countries in the region and the world, international organizations, and prominent figures, because they consider it contrary to international regulations, a clear violation of international law, and United Nations resolutions.
This move has even drawn an adverse reaction from the United States. Trump stated in remarks that the annexation of the West Bank will not happen because he has promised Arab countries that such an event would not occur. He emphasized that if the West Bank were annexed, the Israeli regime would lose all American support. J.D. Vance, the US Vice President, also called the Knesset’s decision to annex the West Bank a political and foolish trick and stated clearly that the West Bank would not be annexed to the occupied territories.
The plan to annex the West Bank is a fundamental security and military challenge in the decades-long conflicts of the Israeli regime with the Palestinians, because it not only violates international treaties and the spirit of the Oslo Accords but also, in practice, leads to the destruction of the Palestinian Self-Government Authority and nullifies any real possibility for the formation of an independent Palestinian state.
It is worth noting that according to the Oslo Accords, which were signed by Yasser Arafat, the then-head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and Yitzhak Rabin, the then-Prime Minister of the Israeli regime, the West Bank was divided into three areas: A, B, and C. Based on this, Area A, which constitutes only 11% of the West Bank’s land, came under the full control of the Palestinian Self-Government Authority. Area B, with 28% of the West Bank’s area, is jointly administered by the Israeli regime and the Palestinian Self-Government Authority; the Israeli regime is responsible for security, and the Palestinians are responsible for municipal affairs. Finally, Area C, which constitutes two-thirds (61%) of the area, is under the complete management of the Israeli regime.
Today, the Palestinian people, Palestinian resistance groups, and also the Axis of Resistance, following the events of the past two years, especially the Al-Aqsa Storm Operation, which was carried out to prevent the occupation of Gaza and to deliver strategic blows to the Israeli regime, will never accept the annexation of the West Bank. For this reason, the Palestinian Resistance Committees have declared in a statement: “We call on all Palestinian citizens across their land to escalate resistance and intifada with all available means against the occupiers and to deliver strong blows to the enemy. We call on our people to intensify their advanced operations to thwart the projects of the Zionist enemy, which aim to dominate Palestinian lands, displace our people, uproot them from their land, and erase the Palestinian cause.”
Therefore, it is natural that the Israeli regime’s effort to advance such an illegitimate plan, without considering the international and regional condemnations which themselves could be a deterrent factor, will undoubtedly lead to the start of a new wave of intense conflicts in the occupied territories and will expand the scope of the crisis from the West Bank and Palestine to the entire region; an issue that will have destructive effects on the security and stability of the region and Arab countries, as well as on international trade.
If the annexation of the West Bank is implemented in any way possible (partial or complete), support for Islamic resistance groups in Palestine and the region will increase. This situation could trigger a wave of protests and, consequently, intensify limited or full-scale armed conflicts in some or all of the occupied territories.
Furthermore, the effort to annex the West Bank will halt the process of normalizing relations between the Israeli regime and some Arab countries. It will bring a new round of diplomatic isolation for this regime. Precisely for this reason, the Trump administration, which manages the file of Zionist-Arab-Islamic normalization, is, at least under current conditions, opposed to this move. On the other hand, the annexation of the West Bank has been met with an adverse, severe reaction from US allies in the Persian Gulf region, including Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, and other countries. Trump, who has placed special reliance on these allies to advance his political and economic programs, is not inclined towards this action.
The final point is that the annexation of the West Bank is not a solution for the security of the Israeli regime; rather, it will confront this regime with unprecedented security, political, and international challenges and will lead to increased instability in the region and a deepening of the internal crisis in the occupied territories.