With softening of US settlement policy, is annexation train leaving the station?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plants an olive tree at the Netiv Ha’avot neighborhood in the Elazar settlement in the West Bank, on January 28, 2019

Jacob Magid writes in Times of Israel, “On the face of it, the Trump administration’s Sunday announcement that it no longer deems Israeli settlements to be illegal gave supporters of West Bank annexation much to celebrate. It would by no means be a stretch to assume that by repudiating a 1978 State Department legal opinion viewing civilian settlements in occupied territories as “inconsistent with international law,” Washington was, in effect, giving a nod to the application of full Israeli sovereignty beyond the Green Line.”

“Because if the settlements aren’t illegal in the eyes of the world’s largest superpower, why should Israel treat those communities as anything less, supporters of Israeli presence in the West Bank concluded. Former justice minister and New Right No. 2 Ayelet Shaked was among the first to draw this conclusion. “Now is the time to apply our sovereignty to these communities,” she tweeted minutes after the announcement was made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “The Jewish People have the legal and moral right to live in their ancient homeland.”

“Shaked was joined by several other right-wing lawmakers including Likud MK Sharren Haskel, who announced that she would be introducing her legislation to annex the Jordan Valley next week after receiving the go-ahead from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself.

The Israeli settlement of Kyryat Arba in pictured in the occupied West Bank near the Palestinian town of Hebron

“Days before the September election, the premier vowed to carry out the move, but conditioned its fulfillment on his victory, which has yet to come about given the ongoing political deadlock. Nevertheless, if Haskel has her way, annexation legislation will move forward with or without the swearing-in of a new government. “Consequently, those who oppose such efforts may be expected to combat them earlier than expected, but for the first time, it would be without official US policy on their side.”

“To be clear, Pompeo did not come out in favor of annexation on Sunday and ahead of the Israel’s September election, US officials called on Jerusalem to refrain from applying Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank while it was preparing to unveil its peace plan. But such requests have not been heard in recent weeks as speculation has grown that the US plan will be shelved entirely. As a result, one left-wing MK who spoke on the condition of anonymity admitted that Pompeo’s announcement will make it more difficult for him to come out against annexation.” (more…)