“They want the land without the people”: How Arab Israelis see annexation

For many Arab citizens of Israel, annexation proposals are seen as continuing a long-standing infringement of their rights.

By Alona Ferber

A Palestinian shepherd stands near the Israeli Hamra checkpoint, which separates the areas of the Palestinian Authority classified A and classified B in the Jordan Valley east of Nablus on July 1, 2020. - The Oslo Agreements on self-rule signed by the Israelis and Palestinians in the 1990s divide the West Bank into Areas A, B and C. Area C, under full Israeli control, constitutes some 60 percent of the West Bank. The settlements and parts of the Jordan Valley that Israel seeks to annex are mainly in Area C. The Palestinian Authority maintains control over the remaining 40 percent of the West Bank, constituting primarily urban areas. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Nobody knows for sure what is the planned scope of Israel’s much-touted annexation of up to 30 per cent of territories in the West Bank. Indeed, nobody knows for sure exactly when the move will go ahead, or even if it will. On Tuesday, one day before his own target date, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government “will keep working” on the issue “in the coming days”. A signal, perhaps, that he was going to miss it.

The process could in theory have begun as soon as Wednesday 1 July. Opposition to the move has stirred deep concerns and international criticism for weeks, however, alongside a promised “big announcement” from Donald Trump – whose controversial peace plan is the basis for Netanyahu’s actions.