Empty words for Palestinians at the General Assembly
Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to make momentous decisions in the coming days, following this week's spectacle at the UN General Assembly. That is, after a long list of countries around the world, including some of the most powerful, have officially recognized the Palestinian stateYes, a decision that comes too late for the Palestinians.
If the international community truly wants to solve the problem, it should impose sanctions on the state of Israel, significant and coercive sanctions, like those it imposed on South Africa to end the injustice of apartheid. The verbal proclamations we are accustomed to are not enough to correct the path, especially considering that Netanyahu will not give up even an inch of territory of his own free will.
When we talk about coercive sanctions, we mean economic and political sanctions, in addition to the exclusion of Israel from UEFA and Eurovision, among others. Sanctions in which the United States should fully participate, a circumstance that Donald Trump does not seem to want to reach.
Interestingly, this week, Kamala Harris, who was vice president under Joe Biden and lost last year's presidential election to Donald Trump, acknowledged that the Democratic Party was wrong when it gave its unrestricted support to Israel, a support that caused the Democrats to lose the election.
Within the Democratic Party, there is a clear current of opinion that traditional policies toward Israel do not work and, above all, do not have the support of Democratic voters, particularly young voters. Within this party, there is a new debate, from recent years, and a growing number of people who view the Palestinians with sympathy, although this has not yet translated into a clear policy, perhaps because the ruling class does not dare to do what they are asked to do from below.
The threat of annexation
Hebrew media report that Netanyahu is considering a series of measures to reduce the significance of the spectacle at the General Assembly. Two stand out: the unilateral annexation of some of the largest Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, the annexation of the Jordan River Valley, and the closure of some Western consulates in East Jerusalem that handle relations with the Palestinians.
In the Knesset, there is a clear majority in favor of Greater Israel, that is, the annexation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This position is also shared by opposition parties, such as Avigdor Lieberman's party and others. This means that the international community should exert very strong, unified and indefinite pressure on Israel if it truly desires the creation of a Palestinian state.
In summary, we can say that the international community will not be able to make progress without significant political changes in the United States and Israel. The first priority is to get rid of Trump and Netanyahu, but this doesn't seem to be a goal within reach, at least not for the next three years of Trump's presidency. And during that time, the Israeli government will try to take advantage of the situation to push for and consolidate the annexation of the Palestinian territories.
