UN Human Rights Experts Condemn Israel’s Annexation Plan Over The West Bank As A “Vision Of A 21st Century Apartheid”

I vividly remember standing in my hotel lobby in the West Bank, watching the news, speechless as Donald Trump spoke about his continued support for the annexation of the West Bank by Israel. The demolition of the homes that families had welcomed me as a stranger into their lives to better understand their story.  I will never forget the look of despair on the faces of Palestinians around me in that moment. Helpless against a superpower, and the rest of the world had turned a blind eye to their future.

The United Kingdom and the United States of America are strong supporters of Israel, ignoring the violation of international laws and the fourth Geneva convention by allowing the continued construction of the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu had described Trump as the “greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House” and Trump’s ‘Middle East Plan’ proposal shows why, it is not a peace plan at all. Trump is in full support of Israel’s plans for colonization, to establish a demilitarized Palestinian state, on scattered territories. In other words, he agrees to help render the West Bank inoperable, separating families, destroying crops, livelihoods, and disjointing the community so it can no longer function.

Whilst the world is now distracted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, Trump’s plan has given the go ahead to annex a third of the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Jordan Valley. This acceleration of annexation will most likely be an end to the peace-process which has been slowly failing. Some had however kept the hope alive that these Palestinian areas would one day make up a Palestinian State. Now those hopes are slowly diminishing, leaving only the hope for one democratic state, but even that seems far-fetched.  Being that the annexation itself is an illegal act in violation of the UN Charter, jus cogens norms of international law, and obligations under international humanitarian law.

Fears are we are looking at another, ‘Nakba’ or catastrophe which last occurred in the 1948 war, which created 700,000 Palestinian refugees who were displaced from their homes with no right of return. Some even became refugees twice after being displaced again from countries such as Syria, which suffered a civil war. These actions elicited an ‘intifada’ or uprising, which involved much violence among the people; as the State of Israel was declared, and there was a six-day war after Israel took control of the West Bank from Jordan and Gaza from Egypt. Palestinians have been under a brutal Israeli occupation ever since. Israeli intelligence and military forces have warned officials, history could repeat itself, if Israel are to go ahead with these plans; as this move has clearly been condemned by the Palestinian Authority and community and will provoke defensive reactions. Also pointing out that Israel already have military control over these areas with combat soldiers, walls, and checkpoints. Trump has already made controversial moves in support of Israel by relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem, signifying it as the ‘official’ capital of Israel and recognizing the annexation of the Golan Heights from Syria as now a part of Israel.

Netanyahu has been advised to wait until the pandemic is over, but he may not heed to that advice. The Israeli coalition government has set the date of 1st July to begin the annexation, but there seems to be a delay. With no certainty on when they will go ahead, this only leads to false hopes and the anxiety of not knowing when Palestinians may be evicted from their homes. During annexation they are never informed or relocated but made homeless. International pressure needs to be applied, but the world remains silent. It is not a deal of the century for Palestinians, it is not a negotiation, but a hostile takeover. Protests have taken place during the pandemic in Ramallah and Gaza, but also globally including in South Korea, across Europe Africa and even support from South African anti-apartheid groups to prevent the annexation from taking place.