If they insist on referring to the planned process of Israel appropriating the Jordan Valley and other large parts of the occupied West Bank as “applying sovereignty”, they are certainly a right-winger. If they use the term “annexation”, chances are this Israeli leans to the left, as the term is used to refer to a violation of international law.
The thought process is simple: right-wing logic says you cannot annex something that is yours to begin with.
Israel’s planned annexation of the Jordan Valley: Why it matters
The annexation of the Jordan Valley could effectively kill whatever hopes remain for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict as it would render completely impossible the establishment of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.
In April, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached an agreement with his rival Benny Gantz to form a unity government that seek to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley. Legislature could be discussed from 1 July.
The Jordan Valley accounts for around one-third of the occupied West Bank (almost 2,400 square kilometres), where 30 Israeli agricultural settlements house around 11,000 settlers.
Some 56,000 Palestinians also reside in the Jordan Valley, including in the city of Jericho, where their daily lives are deeply impacted by Israeli occupation policies.
The area is rich in minerals and agricultural soil and is a highly strategic area, as it lies along the Jordanian border.
Jordan, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, and senior officials in the European Union openly oppose the annexation plan, while the administration of US President Donald Trump has encouraged such moves.
It is not just the linguistics that divide Israelis into two almost equal halves.
According to a new opinion poll published by Israeli Democracy Institute (IDI) on 3 June, over half of Israelis support “applying Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria”, by which they mean annexing the West Bank.
The level of support is surprising given most Israelis do not really know what it is all about.
Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still aiming for 1 July as his D-Day to launch the project, no roadmap has yet been presented.
What is more surprising is the fact that 58 percent of Israelis, according to the same poll, believe such a move will be followed by the outbreak of a third Intifada, or Palestinian uprising – meaning many of those supportive of annexation are very much aware of the cost of such a life-changing step.
‘Palestinian riots cannot be defined as a price to pay for annexation… We can deal with it’
– Uzi Dayan, Likud MP
Uzi Dayan, an MP of Netanyahu’s Likud party and retired major-general, is not just any clueless Israeli. He was the commander of an elite military unit and headed the Israeli National Security Council.
Dayan sounds honestly surprised when asked about the “price”.
“Palestinian riots cannot be defined as a price to pay for annexation,” he tells Middle East Eye. “We can deal with it.”