When Annexation and Imposition of Sovereignty Become the Essence of Zionist Thought

Fascism, in its practical political sense, is not measured by extremist language or hate speeches, but by the act of coercive sovereignty: annexation, imposition of control, and the legal and political nullification of the other’s existence. In this sense, what Israel is practicing today in the West Bank is not an ideological deviation, but complete fascism that transforms occupation into sovereignty and temporary military control into a permanent regime. The recent decisions of the Israeli security cabinet (the cabinet) that allow the enforcement of "law and order" in civilian areas within Areas "A" and "B" represent the clearest expression of this transformation. The state that claims it is not annexing is, in fact, practicing annexation through the expansion of its powers, stripping Palestinian authorities of jurisdiction, and imposing its laws over land that does not recognize its owners' sovereignty. This is the essence of fascism: a power that nullifies any competing legal or political existence. Annexation is not a single legal event, but an organized cumulative process: land confiscation, house demolition, transfer of planning and construction powers, opening land registry, and facilitating the seizure of private properties. In contrast, the Palestinian is reduced to "residents" without political rights, managed security-wise and punished administratively. This legal separation is what imbues annexation with its fascist nature. This fascism did not begin with the current government but grew within the structure of the Oslo Accords themselves, which were deliberately transformed from a temporary phase into a permanent status. Israel was enabled to control the land without bearing responsibilities as an occupying power, while the civil and economic burdens were placed on a Palestinian Authority that lacks sovereignty. Thus, a system emerged where the occupation holds the land, and the authority holds the population. The weakness of the Palestinian Authority was not a mere side effect of this path but a condition for its continued existence. The national project has been replaced by crisis management, and statements of condemnation along with diplomatic moves have proven powerless to stop settlement or disrupt cabinet decisions. Downplaying the seriousness of these steps is no more than an attempt to tie them to the Israeli election year, while annexation, at its core, is a state policy that transcends governments, manifesting from declaration to reality whenever international response, especially from the U.S., is absent. On the ground, these policies translate into an escalation of violence perpetrated by settlers protected by the army, continuous forced displacement of Palestinian communities, destruction of the Jenin, Nour Shams, and Tulkarem camps, and the displacement of more than thirty thousand Palestinians. What is happening is not a security chaos but a practical implementation of the logic of annexation and the apartheid regime. In parallel, the Palestinian leadership continues to bet on external intervention. Despite the conciliatory messages sent to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, and the adoption of the Trump plan and UN Security Council Resolution 2803 regarding the reconstruction of Gaza, no political pressure has been exerted on Israel. The Palestinian leadership was prevented from addressing the United Nations, while European skies were reopened to Benjamin Netanyahu despite his legal troubles. The European Union linked reconstruction to the disarming of Hamas and became practically engaged in policies of collective punishment and disrupting humanitarian aid. In this context, Israeli fascism does not appear to be mere right-wing extremism, but rather a system of governance that benefits from the absence of a Palestinian alternative capable of breaking the equation. The weaker the authority, the greater Israel's ability to impose its sovereignty as a fait accompli, converting the West Bank into a space subject to one law, one army, and one will. The practical eradication of the two-state solution does not leave a political vacuum but fills it with one system: a single state under an apartheid regime. When annexation becomes an official policy and the imposition of sovereignty a daily practice, silence is no longer an option, nor is neutrality possible. What is happening in the West Bank is not a political dispute that can be managed, but a battle for existence itself: land confiscated by law, a community dismantled by force, and an identity managed under a completed apartheid regime. Israeli fascism does not require a formal declaration or international recognition; it is imposed indeed, through administrative decision, bulldozers, armed settlers, and the silence of the world. Conversely, continuing to bet on external factors, or merely managing the crisis, or limiting oneself to verbal denunciations, is no longer just a political failure but an indirect contribution to consolidating this reality. Fascism does not advance merely because it is powerful; it advances because it faces no cost. Every day of delay in confronting it, in the name of realism or fear of the unknown, grants the annexation project more time to become a final destiny. The question is no longer whether Israel will annex the West Bank—this is already happening—but rather how long this annexation will be allowed to advance without cost, amid a powerless authority, and an international system that limits itself to managing the results, while a people is asked to adapt to the loss of its homeland. When annexation becomes the essence of politics and the imposition of sovereignty becomes the essence of thought, fascism has transformed from a description into reality, and waiting then is not neutrality, but a certain loss.