Netanyahu’s plan to annex Jordan Valley kills all chances for Palestinian state
Panoramic view of the Jordan Valley with olive groves
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sept. 10 that he plans to annex the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank if he wins in the legislative elections today, there was initially no response from the Arab states. While a number of traditional Palestinian allies did speak up, the implications of such a move go far beyond normal political disputes.
In a significant move, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Sept. 12 to condemn Netanyahu and insist that the Saudis are strongly opposed to the annexation move. …. ….
The European Union said Sept. 11 that it would not recognize any changes made to the pre-1967 borders and labeled any settlement plans as “illegal under international law.”
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While the political reaction has been strong, the key issue that needs to be looked at is where does this move, if carried out, leave the attempts to find a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With the “breadbasket” of the West Bank taken out, and with access to the Gaza Strip denied because of the blockade, the road map to a Palestinian state and the enactment of the two-state solution would become practically impossible. Not only will this deny Palestinian contiguity and freedom of movement, but without the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea the idea of the viability and sustainability of the Palestinian state would be in serious question, leaving Palestinians no other choice but to fight the formalized apartheid regime that will become more apparent and shift gears to a much longer battle for equality in a single binational state.