Annexation of the West Bank
Israel's Hidden Trick

After the Sharm el-Sheikh summit and following the support of some Arab and European countries for the Trump peace plan and the beginning of its implementation stages, the Islamic resistance movement Hamas was able to manage the situation intelligently; in such a way that, while releasing a number of prisoners, the Zionist regime was forced to reduce the intensity of its attacks to some extent and move towards a military retreat to the borders between the Gaza Strip and the occupied territories.

These developments and positive measures aimed at maintaining the ceasefire and providing aid to the defenseless people of Gaza were, in fact, a clear loss and defeat for the regime that had claimed to destroy Hamas and Gaza. It was predicted that Israel would divert world public opinion to cover up this failure and, by opening a new front, hide its inefficiency in confronting the Palestinian resistance. Therefore, we are witnessing the adoption of two bills regarding the annexation of the West Bank and the occupied East Jerusalem to the occupied Palestine in the Knesset.

The publication of this news immediately received widespread global repercussions and was able to somewhat divert public opinion from the issue of  genocide in Gaza, the violation of the ceasefire and the attempt to neutralize the provisions of the peace plan, and provided Netanyahu with an opportunity to introduce the Zionist regime as the superior power in the region. However, the rapid opposition of the international community, especially from the United Nations, European countries, Arab governments, and even the United States, led Netanyahu to declare that this action was not a priority in the current situation and was merely a political maneuver aimed at managing domestic opposition. However, the reality is that this action should be considered the beginning of a new phase; a move that, despite the declared positions of the United States and Netanyahu's apparent retreat, may be followed in the future. Trump's main goal in his first term as president in the so-called "Grand Deal" plan was to annex the West Bank to other occupied territories under the control of the occupied Palestine from the beginning. As we witnessed during his presidency, when the US embassy was moved to Jerusalem, the idea of ​​​​completely annexing the West Bank is an ongoing American strategy that enjoys Washington's political and security support. Trump's apparent opposition to the annexation plan currently has two reasons: first, he wants to see his peace plan through to completion; second, he does not want the United States to become even more isolated in the global community in the face of public pressure and the negative positions of international institutions, European and Islamic countries.

However, one should not think that the current opposition of Western countries or Netanyahu's statements mean the end of this case. It is very likely that after the current stages of the peace plan are passed, the issue of annexation will be raised again and may even be accompanied by the US's support or silence. In fact, in the short term, and in order to advance his desired peace plan, Trump is talking about temporarily stopping the annexation, but if this plan fails to secure the interests of the Zionist regime, there is a possibility of returning to an expansionist policy in the West Bank. It is noteworthy that such a move is in complete contradiction with the so-called "two-state solution" plan, which, according to a United Nations resolution in 1948, envisaged the formation of two states: Arab (Palestine) and Jewish (Israel). The recent move by the Zionist regime is not only contrary to this international resolution, but also contradicts the current view of most countries in the world, which want official recognition of the State of Palestine.

Accordingly, the international community, and especially the Islamic Republic of Iran, must carefully monitor developments, because the issue of annexing the West Bank is not a simple and temporary matter. If this trend continues, it will definitely increase the size of the occupied territories and intensify the reaction and resistance of the Palestinian people, and as a result, it could push developments in the region into a critical phase.