Settlement of Ofra. The bad word 'annexation' is not so bad anymore
Photo: Reuters
The annexation at the end of the tunnel
Op-ed: Number of Israelis who believe in annexing settlement blocs is gradually surpassing number of Israelis who believe in peace with Abbas.
There was something quite odd about the Israeli attack on the United States following its de-facto recognition
of the new government
in Ramallah.
It's worth paying attention to the fact that the White House waited with its response to the establishment of the Fatah-Hamas government until after the cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. The Americans wanted to see the size of the stick Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would wave at Abbas, and when they noticed the mere toothpick, they reached the conclusion that Jerusalem was also very close to recognizing this government.
Washington cannot be more aggressive than us on such issues. When Jerusalem responds to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' recent deeds by virtually doing nothing, how can it complain about US President Barack Obama?
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Israel's statement that it would now see Abbas as responsible for the firing of Qassam rockets from Gaza was not taken seriously by them – and they were right not to take it seriously. After Israel has always made sure not to exact the price of Qassams from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh himself, it's unlikely that it will exact the price from Abbas of all people.
All signs points to the fact that the cabinet's decision to look into the proposal to annex the settlements blocs is not being taken seriously by the Americans either, but on this issue they are probably wrong. This is the only important decision made at the aforementioned cabinet meeting, mainly because of its symbolic aspect: For the first time since the annexation of the Golan Heights in 1981, the political echelon here decided to look into the option of annexing additional areas.
The bad word "annexation" is not so bad anymore. The third Netanyahu government is willing to finally take it out of its mouth. Only several weeks ago, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni announced that she would quit the government the moment it decided on any type of annexation, and now the lady is humbly accepting this quite unpleasant situation.
Of course no one is about to annex any bloc tomorrow morning, definitely not Netanyahu himself, but the opposition to the annexation is beginning to dwindle. The train of applying Israeli law in Judea and Samaria has left the station. It's safe to assume that more and more passengers will get on this train in the near future, because the demand for this destination is higher than people think.
The number of Israelis who believe in annexation is gradually surpassing the number of Israelis who believe in the possibility of peace with Abbas. When the PA chairman tightens his relations with Israel's haters in the Gaza Strip, the people of Israel tighten their mental and legal relations with Gush Etzion and the surrounding areas.
