Unfastening Israel's Future from the Occupation: Israeli Plans for Partial Annexation of West Bank Territory

Abstract

Israeli plans to partially annex West Bank territory have mainly been perceived as frustrating the two‐state solution, and as putting Palestine/Israel on a path leading to the one‐state alternative. This paper analyses partial annexation plans without assuming that the future of Palestine/Israel would necessarily abide by either statist resolution. It argues that by ostensibly distancing Israel's hold of the West Bank from an identifiable configuration of a belligerent occupation, partial annexation is offered to Jewish Israelis as a path for detaching the futurity of the two nations, and as a trajectory for normalising the Israeli state, without having to make what much of this public would see as painful concessions. It further explores settlers’ objections to such plans, claiming that even a partial incorporation of West Bank territory into formal Israel is expected to erode the exclusivity of Jewish domination which Israel has been upholding in its settler‐colonial frontier.

The moral fog of war and historical sociology

“…Similarly, while the Ukrainian military has received billions of euros and dollars and most advanced weaponry from the EU and US governments, other war-thorn countries have received very little or no military support. These staggering differences cannot be justified invoking only the moral reasoning as Israel's occupation of the West Bank and the continuous building of settlements on the Palestinian territory is just as immoral as any other act of occupation (Amir, 2023). Therefore, making a case for prioritising the military support for Ukraine over others cannot stand on the moral grounds alone.…”