The Deception of "Calmness" and the Reality of "Annexation": Is the West Bank Being Dispossessed Behind Regional Conflict Smoke?

As the world watches radar screens in anticipation of an outbreak of regional war between Israel and Iran, it seems that the "Great Game" is being played completely elsewhere. There is a growing conviction that the drums of war sounded by Israel have merely served as a smokescreen for imminent agreements; after all, Israel, which has done its utmost to ignite the fuse, ultimately lacks true will, while Trump remains driven by "predatory capitalism" that disregards ideology in favor of tangible gains and quick withdrawals after securing limited deals.

Amid this international preoccupation, a "new deception" emerges. President Trump publicly asserts that "annexation will not happen," reaffirming his commitment to the Arab nations that have trusted the peace process, and sending firm messages in February 2026 that "the time has come to stop." But the reality on the ground proves that everything happening is "completely the opposite of the promise." While Washington speaks of calm, it implicitly grants the green light to the Netanyahu- Smotrich government to impose "irreversible facts."

The most dramatic shift is the recent decisions of the "cabinet," which no longer sufficed with Area C, but moved to legitimize expropriation and the demolition of homes even in Area A that is nominally under the Palestinian Authority. This measure represents an official execution of the Oslo Agreements. It facilitates settlers in purchasing land in the heart of Palestinian communities. Moreover, it transforms the national authority from a "State project" into a "service administration" without geographical sovereignty.

According to the 2025 report from the Applied Research Institute (ARIJ), annexation no longer requires a celebratory announcement, but rather occurs through "bureaucratic depletion": 146 military orders, seizing more than 11,200 dunams in one year. The agricultural siege: restricting access to 25,000 dunams, especially during the olive season, to hit the economic nerve of Palestinians. Legal pretexts: using classifications of "state land" and "nature reserves" as colonial tools to impose demographic facts in blatant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Hague regulations.

The project to confiscate 695 dunams to establish a new settlement near "Karni Shomron" stands as an example of this scheme. The goal is not merely to build homes, but to cut the geographic continuity between the Salfit and Qalqilya governorates and turn the Palestinian cities into "isolated pockets" (cantons). The new trend towards "Haredi settlement" aims to rapidly inject large human blocs to ensure the establishment of a "security belt" that forever kills the idea of a Palestinian state, something Smotrich considers a "huge breakthrough" in entrenching Israeli control.

Despite this field invasion, Israeli analysts believe that Israel is in its "weakest moral and strategic state." A complete reliance on brute force and evasion of international promises reflects an existential crisis. With the emergence of forces like E-3 (the three European countries: France, Germany, Britain) that have begun to form a glimpse of power that might curb this excess, the question remains: Will international diplomacy act before the bulldozers wipe out the last inch of the dream of a Palestinian state?

As for the Arab and Islamic position, it remained within the framework of traditional condemnation statements, without real pressure tools or a review of the normalization path or economic interests. Some of the Abrahamic peace countries, which claimed in 2020 that normalization aimed to halt the "Deal of the Century" or mitigate the risks of annexation, have today discovered that on-the-ground annexation continues unabated, and that U.S. cover remains stronger than any Arab position. Thus, the scene is complete: rapid annexation, U.S. cover, and a regional silence cloaked in claims of protecting the Palestinian cause without practical effect.

The world waiting for an agreement with Iran must realize that the price is paid with the soil of the West Bank. Annexation is no longer a "future threat" but a daily reality executed under the curtain of false American promises and the silence of the international community. The race is now between "the speed of expropriation" and "the awakening of global conscience."

Annexation is no longer just a possibility or a future political threat, but a daily reality enforced on the ground without interruption, amid official and diplomatic silence. Every bulldozer that demolishes a house, and every dunam robbed from Palestinians, is a testimony to the international community's failure and its moral silence. Countries that claimed to protect Palestinians through normalization discovered that their words are merely a curtain covering a harsh reality. The West Bank today is not only a confiscated land but a laboratory for canceling any prospect of a Palestinian state, and for playing with the Palestinian social and political fabric without restraint. If global silence continues, history will witness that annexation was only halted by false promises and empty diplomatic statements, while Palestinian life is crushed daily under the wheels of settlement.