Haaretz: Did Trump pave the way for Netanyahu to annex the West Bank?
An idea by US President Donald Trump that got lost in the noise shows that the real prize he will offer Israel may come in the near future, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz said, at a time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is presenting the plan to seize the Gaza Strip as the immediate legacy of his trip to Washington.
Haaretz explained in an article by Ben Samuels that Trump answered a question about annexing the West Bank in the hours before Netanyahu arrived, by comparing the size of Israel in the Middle East to the point of a pen on his desk, and later said alongside Netanyahu, “People love the idea of annexation and we will announce it in the next four weeks”.
Naturally, according to the article, this statement was lost in the uproar that followed Trump’s announcement of his country’s taking over Gaza, which Netanyahu considers the first new idea in years regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
However, a quick look at the calendar shows that Trump will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress four weeks after that meeting.
Netanyahu concluded his visit to Washington by insisting — during meetings with Trump, Republican lawmakers and influential leaders who share his ideology — that Trump had finally corrected the course of the US-Israel relationship after the actions of former President Joe Biden, contradicting his previous claims that Biden serves as one of Israel’s most important historical supporters in America.
Haaretz interpreted Netanyahu’s eager praise of Trump as, on the one hand, the necessary ego-stroking required of any world leader seeking the president’s blessings, and on the other hand, an initial salute of thanks for Trump’s stunning plan for the mass deportation of Palestinians and the American takeover of Gaza.
Regardless, Netanyahu leaves Washington with a variety of Trump actions to show off at home, including executive orders on UNRWA and the International Criminal Court, the announcement of $7 billion in arms sales, and a re-commitment to maximum pressure on Iran.
Netanyahu is also encouraged by Trump casting doubt on the feasibility of a Gaza ceasefire and diverting world attention away from the dozens of Israeli prisoners still held by Hamas toward a horrific Gaza plan that leaves more questions than answers.
Meanwhile, Trump will use his Gaza plan as leverage on Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who is visiting Washington this week in hopes of avoiding further diplomatic disaster.
If the king refuses to receive Palestinians from Gaza and the ceasefire collapses, Trump could use the resumption of US aid to Jordan as a carrot and annexation as a stick.
