Israel’s Annexation Plan of Palestine

Annexation is a term used when a state unilaterally incorporates another territory within its borders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will begin to annex one third of the already illegally occupied West Bank, including parts of the strategic Jordan Valley, in line with US President Donald Trump’s controversial so-called "Middle East plan".

Benjamin Netanyahu, encouraged by the US Middle East plan released in January, has promised to annex the Jordan Valley in addition to 135 settlements that are already considered illegal by the international community — an estimated 30% of the occupied West Bank. Now, the Israeli government is reportedly considering annexing several other settlements first, such as Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem and the settlement bloc of Gush Etzion, which comprises several smaller settlements in the southern West Bank.

The plan, announced in January, proposes to establish a demilitarised Palestinian state on a patchwork of disjointed parts of the Palestinian territories. Annexing the Jordan Valley would mean that Israel would officially consider it part of its state.

This could virtually end the two-state solution and possibly trigger another war in the region.

In Ramallah, the Palestinian leadership has halted all working agreements with Israel, including security and civilian coordination. In recent days, some Palestinian officials have also hinted at dissolving the Palestinian Authority, which was created in 1994 as a result of the Oslo Accords. Although Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh has committed to maintain law and order, his government's difficult financial situation has exacerbated political tensions. The PA has recently been unable to pay salaries due to Israel's withholding of tax and customs revenues it ordinarily transfers to the Palestinians. In Hamas-ruled Gaza, the group's military wing has warned that any annexation would be considered a "declaration of war."

The International Community is unilaterally against the Annexation plan. UN experts say the annexation of occupied territory is a serious violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the Geneva Conventions, and contrary to the fundamental rule affirmed many times by the UN Security Council and General Assembly that the acquisition of territory by war or force is inadmissible.

"Annexation is illegal. Period," Michelle Bachelet, UN high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement on Monday. "Any annexation, whether it is 30 percent of the West Bank, or 5 percent (is illegal)."

EU High Representative Foreign Affairs has said that any annexation of any part of the occupied West Bank is illegal and violates the International Law.

But the Matter of the Fact is that this annexation is being backed by the United States. Historically speaking, it is very clear that the United States has bent or even broken International Law to secure its own interests and Israel is key to their pursuit for control in the Middle East.

The future may seem uncertain for the Palestinians and Muslims worldwide but one thing for certain is that, even though it is being delayed, this annexation will go ahead.