Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has presented his first post-war plan for the Palestinian occupied territories, following pressure from the Biden administration to prepare for the Gaza-Israel war’s day after. In what represents a clear challenge to their US allies, the Israeli proposal suggests full control of the West Bank and partial control inside the Gaza Strip.
For years the Israeli government has discussed carrying out a de jure annexation of the West Bank, in clear opposition to the long-held policy position of their allies in Washington; who assert that a Palestinian State should be established on the territory. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been granted carte blanche to commit whatever military action he sees fit inside of the Gaza Strip and throughout the West Bank, since October 7, has now put forth his proposal which amounts to the annihilation of the “Two-State solution” option for ending the Palestine-Israel conflict.
While the US government has proposed forcing a new “road map”, or “peace plan”, on the Palestinian people, over which they will have no control whatsoever, the Israeli government is not even appearing to entertain such proposals this time around. Earlier this month, the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) voted in favor of a bill which rejects the creation of a Palestinian State. Backing this legislation up with a solid proposal to change the situation on the ground, in order to achieve the outcome of preventing a Palestinian State, Netanyahu’s new plan works to implement his Likud Party charter’s stated objective: that only Israeli sovereignty shall be present from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea.
Well here it is being used by the Likud Party as part of their original party platform. But I am sure that is totally not the same thing at all, right Elon? https://t.co/seD3wf9M4B https://t.co/6J8PeSmKus pic.twitter.com/tSLhvaJjw5
— The Last American Vagabond (@TLAVagabond) November 28, 2023
The US government’s reported frustration with the Israeli administration of Benjamin Netanyahu has been widely reported in American mainstream media, as we have heard that US President Joe Biden has reportedly used quite explicit language to express his frustration with the Israeli Premier. Adding to this is the latest condemnation from Washington, of recently announced plans to reconstruct a further 3,300 illegal settlement units in the West Bank, which the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has called “inconsistent with international law“.
However, despite the apparent dismay expressed from members of the US Biden administration, nothing tangible is being done to combat what would represent a death blow to any semblance of Israel following through on decades-long US policy positions. If the plan of the Israeli government is to place under its control everything West of the Jordan River — which is to say the entirety of Palestine/Israel — then this is by default a slap in the face of Washington and the physical implementation of wiping Palestine off the map. Although the document that was passed along to members of the Israeli government has not been ratified into law, it does represent an initiative for the total elimination of Palestinian sovereignty, while worsening international fears that Israel plans to ethnically cleanse the population of the Gaza Strip into the Egyptian Sinai desert.
At this current time, the Israeli military is failing in its pledge to eliminate Hamas, which is a goal that has been co-signed by the Biden administration, instead only succeeding at eliminating a large portion of Gaza’s civilian population and infrastructure. Knowing this, reports have emerged noting that Arab States are working to put together post-war proposals themselves, as Israeli Hebrew media revealed that talks are ongoing to integrate Hamas within the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). The PLO acts as an umbrella organisation for Palestinian political parties, but is controlled by the Fatah Party that runs the Palestinian Authority (PA) based in the West Bank. If Hamas is integrated within the PLO, this would represent the unification of the Palestinian political scene, although national elections, that have not taken place in over 17 years, would have to occur to give Hamas major control in the PLO as its power has been curtailed by the PA’s unelected President Mahmoud Abbas.
Although going further into the inner workings of Palestinian politics would take this article in an unintended direction, noting what is mentioned above is important to show that the Israelis, Americans, and Palestinians are all of very different minds about what a post-war scenario should look like. While the Israeli government is hellbent on wiping out any semblance of Palestinian sovereignty, along with ethnically cleansing the people, and is committing a genocide in Gaza, the US government is twiddling its thumbs and releasing occasion statements which reflect a disconnect from reality.
The US position on a post-war scenario is that there must be steps taken towards a “Two-State solution”, which may sound great to some, yet is in the realm of fantasy. To begin with, the Israeli government has openly stated that it is not going to accept negotiating with any Palestinian representative over the possible establishment of a Palestinian State and is working to take more Palestinian land in order to prevent this possibility from ever arising. On top of this, even if the Israelis were open to negotiations, there is no unified Palestinian representative organization to negotiate with — this is by design.
In order to reach a point where there could potentially be negotiations, on the implementation of a so-called “Two-State solution”, the US would have to work towards aiding a unification of the Palestinian national movement, which would involve acknowledging the relevance of Hamas to this equation, while also applying enormous amounts of pressure on the Israeli government. No Israeli political party could survive even voicing an interest in negotiating at this point, so the US would have to essentially threaten Tel Aviv and drastic measures such as sanctions would have to be employed in order to make this possible. Yet the US government will not even intervene to prevent Israel from carrying out a genocide in the Gaza Strip, even after 5 months of mass murder and the creation of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, so the idea that they would perform a 180 degree shift, over the implementation of a “Two-State solution”, seems highly improbable.
Israel is now considered to be an Apartheid regime by every leading human rights organization, including its own top rights group B’Tselem. While it is also plausibly accused in the highest judicial body on earth of committing the crime of Genocide, it has also racked up a civilian kill toll in Gaza that quite literally makes ISIS look tame. Even after countless warnings from United Nations officials, the European Union, the International Court of Justice, and even multiple nations that have either cut ties or withdrawn ambassadors over the continuing war crimes in Gaza, Israel only doubles down on its genocidal actions and expressions of intent. The Israeli government, and society for that matter, has been whipped up into a frenzy of racist hate and continues to take measures to act upon this hatred.
For Israel, it does not matter that no tangible military goals have been achieved through their invasion and bombardment of Gaza, they seek to prolong the war indefinitely and only entertain insulting and untenable “temporary ceasefire” agreements. On the other side, the Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza are working towards tangible solutions in a post-war scenario and have already presented a comprehensive ceasefire framework. Hamas, along with the other armed factions fighting the Israeli invading army in Gaza, are discussing the ideas of political unification, prisoner swaps, humanitarian relief efforts and reconstruction, in stark contrast to their opposition in Tel Aviv. These two parallel universes, which exist between the Palestinians and Israelis, could not be more stark. One side [the Palestinian groups in Gaza] are actually seeking an end to the violence, the release of prisoners on both sides, and the road to a political solution, yet there can be no progress unless the other side [Israel] corresponds.
Ultimately, the only reason this war has not yet ended is because of Washington’s “unconditional support of Israel”. There is no escaping this reality, which the US Biden administration is attempting to tiptoe around by leaking talk of “road maps” and “peace plans”, in addition to frustrations over Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct. What must be understood is that the problem on the Israeli side is not limited to Benjamin Netanyahu, or his extremist allies like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir. The problem is with the entire Israeli political and military establishment, which is why the conflict will not end with the removal of the Netanyahu government.
The following appears to be the desired strategy of the US Biden administration:
To end the war with a poorly put together ceasefire agreement, one which will lead to the collapse of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The US will then officially recognize Palestine as a State, which will ideally be followed by Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel, as Riyadh recently released a statement in which they said recognition of a Palestinian State is required for a normalization deal. The Biden administration may also follow through on the current talks regarding a withdrawal of forces from Iraq and even Syria (which likely will collapse and won’t be properly implemented). With a new Israeli transitional government in power, the Biden administration will seek to impose a non-workable and completely pro-Israeli resolution to the Palestine-Israel conflict, while claiming that it is finally seeking to solve the “unsolvable” issue and will use the Palestinian Authority to grant legitimacy to this “peace plan”, which will quickly fall apart.
Although none of the above will actually work, this appears to be what the US government is seeking as a conclusion to the war on Gaza, as per the information currently available. It is detached from reality and reflects the same recklessness which led to the current crisis in the region, seeking only to rescue the image of the Biden administration prior to the upcoming Presidential election.
