The Times: The West Bank at the Heart of the Battle for Palestinian State Recognition

SadaNews - A report published by The Times stated that the West Bank will form the heart of a Palestinian state if it is recognized, but the potential for its annexation and the rise of settler violence may undermine the two-state solution.

The report confirmed that the decision by France and Britain to recognize the Palestinian state may be due to famine in Gaza, but the historical factor prompting this step is the escalating tensions and violence in the occupied West Bank.

This interest in the West Bank arises from the West’s belief that it constitutes the nucleus of a future Palestinian state, and is an essential part of achieving peace and maintaining the two-state solution - which is supported by Europe - in the Middle East, according to the report's author and China affairs correspondent, Richard Spencer.

The report clarified that annexing the West Bank would eliminate the idea of a Palestinian state, as the area of Gaza alone is insufficient, especially in light of some Israeli ministers' calls for its annexation as well.

Settlement and Expansion

With the Israeli government continuing to threaten to impose its sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, attempts to rename the area to "Judea and Samaria", and the rising violence in areas such as Hebron, Ramallah, and Nablus, the West was compelled to intervene, according to the report.

The report noted that global attention has been focused on Gaza since the attacks on October 7, 2023, which allowed the settlement campaign in the West Bank to escalate unnoticed.

It continued that settlers carried out repeated assaults on Palestinian villages, the latest being the killing of Palestinian citizen Auda Al-Hithalin, one of the contributors to the Oscar-winning film "No Other Land", on Monday.

The Times perceives - as stated in the report - that this violence has led to the "radicalization" of Palestinian youths and their joining armed factions, providing a pretext for further Israeli military campaigns in the West Bank.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - according to the report - sees no difference between Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, despite the latter's cooperation with Israel, which foreshadows the generalization of Israeli military operations across all Palestinian territories.

The report highlighted that France and Britain, due to their colonial history in drawing the region's borders, consider this trajectory a serious threat that must be halted before it is too late.

Political Maneuvering

According to The Times report, Netanyahu continues to maneuver regarding the two-state solution, refusing it in front of his voters, while avoiding explicitly rejecting it publicly in front of Washington to maintain American support.

It added that ministers such as Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir do not share this caution but rather express their desire to annex the West Bank openly.

It mentioned that the Knesset voted overwhelmingly in favor of a non-binding resolution - with 71 votes in favor and 13 against - recognizing the West Bank as an "integral part of the Land of Israel".

The report concluded that Western countries have not begun to take action because they have a clear vision of what they want to achieve in Palestine, but rather because they see that they must do something before the situation escalates further.