The Israeli minister has announced the construction of settlements in the E1 area of the West Bank, a step that hinders the creation of a Palestinian state and accelerates the annexation process. This announcement was made despite international support for the Palestinian cause. The E1 area, located east of Jerusalem between the city and the large settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, is strategic for the territorial continuity of the West Bank. Since 1967, this corridor has been kept free to allow for future territorial continuity between the North and South of the occupied West Bank, in anticipation of a possible Palestinian state.
The Israeli plan also provides for the construction on a hill owned by the Vatican. However, the announcement does not represent a definitive historical change. If one day a Palestinian independence is to be achieved, Israel should withdraw from the E1 area, regardless of what is built. In the case of a Greater Israel “from the Sea to the Jordan River”, the Israeli territorial annexation process has been ongoing for decades and is accelerating both in Gaza and in the rest of the West Bank.
The possibility of a Palestinian state is not dead as the minister’s words would have us believe. The struggle for Palestine has many variants: religious, ideological, national, and geopolitical. However, its essence is territorial, a struggle for conquest and control of the land. In 1946, the United Nations plan for the partition of Palestine was rejected by the Arabs, offering Zionism the opportunity to expand its territorial conquests.
After the 1967 victory, the design of a Greater Israel was widely shared by the Israeli public opinion. Clearly or tacitly, the majority of Israelis are opposed to the birth of a Palestinian state. Surveys conducted in Israel show that, although there is a desire to end the Gaza war, this desire is motivated primarily by the release of hostages, not by concern for the civilian population of Gaza.
The possibility of a Palestinian state continues to be seen as a Hamas-governed Palestine, and Palestinian national independence has always been seen as a threat. The annexation process is almost always ongoing. It even continued during the Oslo peace agreements. In 1993, when they were signed, the Israelis refused to freeze the construction of settlements in the occupied territories, where the Palestinian state was supposed to be born. In the seven years that followed, despite the ongoing negotiations, the settlements increased by 100%.
The minister’s announcement has little historical significance. It should teach European leaders that recognizing Palestine has little effect without the addition of economic and political sanctions. Declaring the birth of a state without doing anything to make it exist is useless. It should also explain to young people that the slogan “a Palestine from the sea to the river” is wrong. It is the same thing that the minister proclaims, but in favor of Israel. Even if the space is not much, from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, there should be room for two countries.
Territorial annexation has almost always been an ongoing activity. It even continued during the Oslo peace agreements. In 1993, when they were signed, the Israelis refused the request to freeze the construction of colonies in the occupied territories, where the Palestinian state was to arise. In the seven years that followed, despite ongoing negotiations, settlements increased by 100 percent.
La falta de efectividad de reconocer a Palestina
El anuncio del ministro tiene poca significación histórica. Debería enseñar a los líderes europeos que reconocer a Palestina tiene poca efectividad sin la adición de sanciones económicas y políticas. Declarar el nacimiento de un estado sin hacer nada para que exista es inútil. También debería explicar a los jóvenes que el lema “una Palestina desde el mar hasta el río Jordán” es incorrecto. Es lo mismo que el ministro proclama, pero a favor de Israel. Aunque el espacio no es mucho, desde el Mediterráneo hasta el río Jordán debería haber lugar para dos países.
