UN rights chief: West Bank annexation 'illegal'

Submitted by Jurist on Wed, 07/01/2020 - 21:09

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on June 29 called on Israel to halt its efforts to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. Israel plans to annex settlements in the West Bank, as well as areas of the Jordan Valley, in the coming days. Bachelet said that, regardless of how much land Israel tries to annex, such a move is illegal. She added that while the consequences of annexation would be hard to predict, "they are likely to be disastrous for the Palestinians, for Israel itself, and for the wider region."

According to Bachelet, the annexation would likely increase human rights violations. Palestinians would be restricted in where they could go, which could lead to difficulties obtaining essential services such as health and education. Additionally, Palestinians may be forced to move out of areas they now inhabit. If Israel's settlements were to expand into these areas, this would increase tensions between the two groups.

Bachelet stated:

This is a highly combustible mix. I am deeply concerned that even the most minimalist form of annexation would lead to increased violence and loss of life, as walls are erected, security forces deployed and the two populations brought into closer proximity. The existing two-tier system of law in the same territory will become embedded, with devastating impacts on the lives of Palestinians who have little or no access to legal remedy.

UN human rights experts have also called on Israel to halt the annexation.

From Jurist, June 29. Used with permission.

Annexation as ploy?

Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Wed, 07/01/2020 - 23:50

The New York Times portrays behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts likely to "delay" annexation, including this:

The latest, described as a counterproposal by Mr. Netanyahu to the Trump administration’s original “conceptual map” for possible annexation, showed Jewish enclaves deep in Palestinian-designated territory growing, presumably to appease right-wing settlers who objected to being marooned inside a potential Palestinian state. But it also called for compensating the Palestinians by handing them some of the hills overlooking Ben-Gurion International Airport, which Israeli hawks had once considered too strategically vital to give away.

One of our Palestine correspondents comments: "Its all a ploy. They threaten sanctions against annexation. They don't annex. As a reward for not annnexing, no sanctions. Thus de facto annexation normalized."