Haaretz article: Trump opposes the annexation of the West Bank in word but condones it in practice | policy

The United States has repeatedly warned, condemned, pressured, and stressed that any annexation, whether by enacting a law or merely announcing, will cross a red line for Washington, but the real question is to what extent this opposition changes the reality on the ground?

This problem was raised by Haaretz newspaper writer Jack Khoury in an analysis for which he chose the title: “The Trump Paradox: Opposing the annexation of the West Bank in words and allowing it in reality,” in which he addressed the contradiction at the heart of the Trump administration’s policy in the Middle East.

The writer highlighted that President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, repeatedly warned against any official annexation of the West Bank, noting that their statements created the impression of a balanced, principled American position. However, Khoury believes that American policy, in essence, allowed Israel to continue expanding its control over the Palestinian territories without any actual deterrent.

Khoury points out that the reality on the ground has long since passed the stage of political statements. The daily lives of Palestinians are restricted by hundreds of Israeli checkpoints and gates and frequent settler violence. These attacks often target Palestinian villages and farmers, especially during the olive harvest season, which leads to the destruction of property and harm to the population. Khoury confirms that these attacks occur “with the accompaniment or implicit approval of the security forces.” “Israeli”, which makes annexation a living reality and not just a political possibility.

Actual annexation

Khoury describes this ongoing process as “de facto” that takes place gradually without the need for an official declaration. Private Palestinian lands are confiscated, illegal settlement outposts are legitimized, and settlement expansion continues unabated.

In the absence of any vote in the Knesset or an official speech, Israel continues to tighten its grip on the West Bank, and Khoury writes that this is happening “under a harsh apartheid regime that deepens division and establishes control,” referring to the racist structure on which the occupation is based.

While the Trump administration is proud of its principled position against formal annexation, Khoury believes that its actions, or rather the absence of its actions, tell a different story. He says: “Israel enjoys complete freedom in everything related to the lives of Palestinians,” starting from confiscating the Palestinian Authority’s tax funds, all the way to aborting any attempt to revive the diplomatic process. By ignoring these policies, Washington gives implicit legitimacy to the expansion. Continuous Israeli.

The fundamental paradox in Trump’s approach regarding Israel’s annexation of the West Bank is based on symbolic opposition to it, which is matched by political passivity

Khoury highlights the basic paradox in Trump’s approach, as it is based on symbolic opposition met with political negativity. Washington, although it may have blocked the annexation bill, “gives the green light to everything else,” without imposing sanctions or clear affirmation of the rights of the Palestinians.

Concrete steps

Khoury stresses that stopping actual annexation requires concrete steps, such as releasing frozen tax funds, stopping settlement expansion, and reopening diplomatic channels such as the American consulate in East Jerusalem and the offices of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington.

The writer points out that these simple measures, which were previously considered the minimum level of respect and diplomatic support, have become for the Palestinians “an unattainable dream, more like a fantasy.”

The difference between the American rhetoric and the reality on the ground is widening day after day, while the map of the West Bank changes “hill after hill, road after road,” and by choosing to be content with statements, the United States allows Israel to deepen its control under the guise of the “status quo,” as he put it.

At the conclusion of his article, Jack Khoury asserts that Trump’s policy embodies a deep moral and political contradiction. Washington can “brag about its alleged opposition to annexation,” but in practice it perpetuates a regime that “imposes isolation, denies rights, and expands control by force.”

As Khoury poignantly writes, there is no need for a law to name what already exists, as annexation “is visible in every closed gate and checkpoint, in every uprooted olive tree, and in every Palestinian village cut off in the name of ‘Israel’s security needs’.”