Trump comeback restarts Israeli public debate on West Bank annexation

Trump comeback restarts Israeli public debate on West Bank annexation
When Donald Trump presented his 2020 plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it included the Israeli annexation of swathes of the occupied West Bank, a controversial aspiration that has been revived by his reelection. (AFP/File)
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Updated 18 January 2025
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Trump comeback restarts Israeli public debate on West Bank annexation

Trump comeback restarts Israeli public debate on West Bank annexation
  • With Trump returning to the White House, pro-annexation Israelis are hoping to rekindle the idea
  • Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, himself a settler in the Palestinian territory, said recently that 2025 would be “the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria“

JERUSALEM: When Donald Trump presented his 2020 plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it included the Israeli annexation of swathes of the occupied West Bank, a controversial aspiration that has been revived by his reelection.
In his previous stint as prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu pushed for partial annexation of the West Bank, but he relented in 2020 under international pressure and following a deal to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates.
With Trump returning to the White House, pro-annexation Israelis are hoping to rekindle the idea.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, himself a settler in the Palestinian territory, said recently that 2025 would be “the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” referring to the biblical name that Israel uses for the West Bank.
The territory was part of the British colony of Mandatory Palestine, from which Israel was carved during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, with Jordanian forces taking control of the West Bank during the same conflict.
Israel conquered the territory from Amman in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and has occupied it ever since.
Today, many Jews in Israel consider the West Bank part of their historical homeland and reject the idea of a Palestinian state in the territory, with hundreds of thousands having settled in the territory.
Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and its 200,000 Jewish residents, the West Bank is home to around 490,000 Israelis in settlements considered illegal under international law.
Around three million Palestinians live in the West Bank.
Israel Ganz, head of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization for the municipal councils of West Bank settlements, insisted the status quo could not continue.
“The State of Israel must make a decision,” he said.
Without sovereignty, he added, “no one is responsible for infrastructure, roads, water and electricity.”
“We will do everything in our power to apply Israeli sovereignty, at least over Area C,” he said, referring to territory under sole Israeli administration that covers 60 percent of the West Bank, including the vast majority of Israeli settlements.
Even before taking office, Trump and his incoming administration have made a number of moves that have raised the hopes of pro-annexation Israelis.
The president-elect nominated the pro-settlement Baptist minister Mike Huckabee to be his ambassador to Israel. His nominee for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said this would be “the most pro-Israel administration in American history” and that it would lift US sanctions on settlers.
Eugene Kontorovich of the conservative think thank Misgav Institute pointed out that the Middle East was a very different place to what it was during Trump’s first term.
The war against Hamas in Gaza, Israel’s hammering of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the fall of Syrian president Bashar Assad, all allies of Israel’s arch-foe Iran, have transformed the region.
“October 7 showed the entire world the danger of leaving these (Palestinian) territories’ status in limbo,” Kontorovich said, referring to Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel 15 months ago that sparked the Gaza war.
He said “the war has really turned a large part of the Israeli population away from a two-state solution.”
The two-state solution, which would create an independent Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, has been the basis of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations going back decades.
Even before Trump won November’s US presidential election, NGOs were denouncing what they called a de facto annexation, pointing to a spike in land grabs and an overhaul of the bureaucratic and administrative structures Israel uses to manage the West Bank.
An outright, de jure annexation would be another matter, however.
Israel cannot expropriate private West Bank land at the moment, but “once annexed, Israeli law would allow it. That’s a major change,” said Aviv Tatarsky, from the Israeli anti-settlement organization Ir Amim.
He said that in the event that Israel annexes Area C, Palestinians there would likely not be granted residence permits and the accompanying rights.
The permits, which Palestinians in east Jerusalem received, allow people freedom of movement within Israel and the right to use Israeli courts. West Bank Palestinians can resort to the supreme court, but not lower ones.
Tatarsky said that for Palestinians across the West Bank, annexation would constitute “a nightmare scenario.”
Over 90 percent of them live in areas A and B, under full or partial control of the Palestinian Authority.
But, Tatarsky pointed out, “their daily needs and routine are indissociable from Area C,” the only contiguous portion of the West Bank, where most agricultural lands are and which breaks up areas A and B into hundreds of territorial islets.


Israel says received names of 3 hostages to be freed Saturday

Israel says received names of 3 hostages to be freed Saturday
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Israel says received names of 3 hostages to be freed Saturday

Israel says received names of 3 hostages to be freed Saturday
One of them is being held by Hamas’s militant ally Islamic Jihad
Israel had warned Hamas that it must free three living hostages this weekend or face a resumption of the war

JERUSALEM: Israel said Friday it had received the names of three hostages to be freed by militants this weekend, after a crisis in the ceasefire threatened to plunge Gaza back into war.
The hostages due for release Saturday are Israeli-Russian Sasha Trupanov, Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen and Israeli-Argentinian Yair Horn, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
One of them is being held by Hamas’s militant ally Islamic Jihad, which participated in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
Israel had warned Hamas that it must free three living hostages this weekend or face a resumption of the war, after the group said it would pause releases over what it described as Israeli violations of the Gaza truce.
The January 19 ceasefire has been under massive strain since President Donald Trump proposed a US takeover of the territory, under which Gaza’s population of more than two million would be moved to Egypt or Jordan.
Arab countries have come together to reject the plan, and Saudi Arabia will on February 20 host the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for a summit on the issue.
The releases of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, as agreed under the terms of the truce, have brought much-needed relief to families on both sides of the war, but the emaciated state of the Israeli captives freed last week sparked anger in Israel and beyond.
“The latest release operations reinforce the urgent need for ICRC access to those held hostage,” the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has facilitated the exchanges, said in a statement Friday.
“We remain very concerned about the conditions of the hostages.”
Following Hamas’s handover ceremony last week, during which the captives were forced to speak, the ICRC appealed for future handovers to be more private and dignified.
Israeli-American hostage Keith Siegel, who was released in a previous exchange nearly two weeks ago, described mistreatment during his captivity in a video message.
“I am a survivor. I was held for 484 days in unimaginable conditions, every single day felt like it could be my last,” he said.
“I was starved and I was tortured, both physically and emotionally.”
Trump, whose proposal to take over Gaza and move its 2.4 million residents to Egypt or Jordan sparked global outcry, warned this week that “hell” would break loose if Hamas failed to release “all” remaining hostages by noon on Saturday.
Israel later insisted Hamas release “three living hostages” on Saturday.
“If those three are not released, if Hamas does not return our hostages, by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end,” said government spokesman David Mencer.
If fighting resumes, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said it would not just lead to the “defeat of Hamas and the release of all the hostages,” but also “allow the realization of US President Trump’s vision for Gaza.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was due in Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss the ceasefire after attending the Munich Security Conference, where he will hold talks on Ukraine.
Katz last week ordered the Israeli army to prepare for “voluntary” departures from Gaza, and the military said it had already begun reinforcing its troops around the territory.
Mairav Zonszein of the International Crisis Group said despite their public disputes, Israel and Hamas were still interested in maintaining the truce and have not “given up on anything yet.”
“They’re just playing power games,” she said.
Arab countries have put on a rare show of unity in their rejection of Trump’s proposal for Gaza.
After the Riyadh summit, the Arab League will convene in Cairo on February 27 to discuss the same issue.
Trump has threatened to cut off a vital aid lifeline to long-standing allies Jordan and Egypt should they refuse to come on board.
Jordan is already home to more than two million Palestinian refugees. More than half of the country’s population of 11 million is of Palestinian origin.
Egypt put forward its own proposal for the reconstruction of Gaza under a framework that would allow for the Palestinians to remain in the territory.
Palestinians in Gaza have also voiced opposition to the plan.
For Palestinians, any forced displacement evokes memories of the “Nakba,” or catastrophe — the mass displacement of their ancestors during Israel’s creation in 1948.
“Who is Trump? Is he God almighty? The land of Jordan is for Jordanians, and the land of Egypt belongs to Egyptians,” said Gaza City resident Abu Mohamed Al-Husari.
“We are here, deeply rooted in Gaza — the resilient, besieged and unbreakable Gaza.”
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 73 remain in Gaza, including at least 35 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,239 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the UN considers reliable.

Israeli security official says military readying to withdraw from Lebanon

Israeli security official says military readying to withdraw from Lebanon
Updated 14 February 2025
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Israeli security official says military readying to withdraw from Lebanon

Israeli security official says military readying to withdraw from Lebanon
  • Hezbollah was also expected to vacate its positions in the south, near the Israeli border, during that timeframe

Jerusalem: The Israeli military is prepared to withdraw from Lebanese territory and hand over areas to the Lebanese army “within the timeline” set by a US-French-mediated ceasefire agreement, a senior Israeli security official said.
Under the ceasefire that took effect November 27, Lebanon’s military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period, later extended until February 18.
Hezbollah was also expected to vacate its positions in the south, near the Israeli border, during that timeframe.
“We are still deployed in accordance with the US monitored agreement and we are working closely with the US to make sure that handing over responsibility to the Lebanese army will happen within the timeline,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with protocols, said on Thursday.
His comments came as Israeli fighter jets overnight hit what the army said were Hezbollah military sites “containing weapons and launchers, which pose a direct threat to the Israeli home front.”
Lebanese media reported that Israeli aircraft had targeted sites near the town of Yater. Warplanes were also seen flying over southern Lebanese villages and towns.
Lebanon’s parliamentary speaker Nabih Berrih said on Thursday the United States had informed him that, while Israel would withdraw on February 18, “it will remain in five locations.”
Lebanon rejected this, he said in a statement.
The Israeli official did not comment on whether the withdrawal also applied to the five locations mentioned by Berrih. The official, said however that the military withdrawal was in motion and “the next step of the agreement stipulates that we will withdraw to Blue Line handing over in orderly fashion to the Lebanese army in the area where we pull out from.”
The Israeli military, however, was continuing to monitor Hezbollah’s movements, he said, adding: “We have seen several clear incidents where Hezbollah was trying to breach the agreement such as infiltrating south in civilian clothes, trying to restore or remove munitions and also smuggling arms in the Bekka valley.”
The UN as well as Hezbollah have also accused Israel of committing violations during the ceasefire.
Hezbollah and Israel clashed for more than a year, including in two months of all-out war, before the November 27 agreement came into effect.
The Iran-backed Lebanese armed group said its hostilities with Israel were in solidarity with Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, where Israel fought a deadly war for more than a year before international mediators brokered a fragile truce in January.


Turkiye’s Erdogan says US making “wrong calculations” in Mideast

Turkiye’s Erdogan says US making “wrong calculations” in Mideast
Updated 14 February 2025
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Turkiye’s Erdogan says US making “wrong calculations” in Mideast

Turkiye’s Erdogan says US making “wrong calculations” in Mideast
  • Erdogan said he expected Trump to realize his election campaign promises of taking steps for peace, rather than create new conflicts

ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the administration of US President Donald Trump was making “wrong calculations” regarding the Middle East, adding that heeding “Zionist lies” would only exacerbate conflicts.
Turkiye has rejected Trump’s plan to remove the more than 2 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, claim US control of it and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” It has also said Israel’s assault on Gaza amounted to a genocide, while calling for international measures against its government.
“Unfortunately, the United States is making a wrong calculation about our region. One should not be engaged in an approach that disregards the region’s history, values, and accumulation,” he said, according to a transcript of comments to journalists on a return flight from Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Erdogan said he expected Trump to realize his election campaign promises of taking steps for peace, rather than create new conflicts.
He said he saw no real signs of a ceasefire in Gaza despite a truce agreement between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, and added the Muslim world had still not been able to take a collective step on the issue.


Lebanon marks 20 years since Rafic Hariri killed as power balance shifts

Lebanon marks 20 years since Rafic Hariri killed as power balance shifts
Updated 14 February 2025
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Lebanon marks 20 years since Rafic Hariri killed as power balance shifts

Lebanon marks 20 years since Rafic Hariri killed as power balance shifts
  • A UN-backed court sentenced two Hezbollah members in absentia to life imprisonment for the massive suicide bombing that killed him and 21 others

BEIRUT: Lebanon on Friday marked 20 years since former prime minister Rafic Hariri’s assassination, with seismic political changes underway that have weakened Hezbollah and its backers and could herald a comeback for Hariri’s son Saad.
Rafic Hariri, a towering political figure who oversaw Lebanon’s reconstruction era after the 1975-1990 civil war, had recently resigned as premier when he was killed on February 14, 2005.
In 2022, a UN-backed court sentenced two Hezbollah members in absentia to life imprisonment for the massive suicide bombing that killed him and 21 others, though the group has refused to hand them over.
His son Saad, who served three times as prime minister, is based in the United Arab Emirates but has again returned for the annual commemorations.
This time, he is back in a changed Lebanon.
The commemoration comes days before the deadline for implementing a Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire, which ended more than a year of hostilities that weakened the group.
Concerns have mounted for the fragile truce after Beirut rejected Israel’s demand to remain in five southern locations after the February 18 deadline.
But Hezbollah still carries weight, with supporters Thursday blocking the airport road after two Iranian planes were barred from landing.
A day earlier, Israel’s army had accused Iran of sending funds to arm the group through the Beirut airport.
On Friday morning, a few thousand Hariri supporters carrying Lebanese flags gathered near his father’s burial site in downtown Beirut.
“For the first time in 20 years, our joy is double: first because the Syrian regime fell... and second because Sheikh Saad is among us,” homemaker Diana Al-Masri, 52, told AFP.
A source close to Hariri said he was due to give a speech addressing developments “in Lebanon and the region,” though he may not resume political activities right away.
“His supporters are calling on him to return to political life,” said the source, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Until early 2022, Hariri was the main Sunni Muslim leader in a country where political power is shared along sectarian lines.
Once enjoying strong support from Saudi Arabia, Hariri’s relationship with the regional heavyweight deteriorated because of his conciliatory attitude toward Hezbollah.
In 2017, Hariri resigned as premier in a shock address from Riyadh, citing Iran’s “grip” on Lebanon through Hezbollah and prompting accusations he was being held against his will.
French President Emmanuel Macron had to intervene to secure his return to Lebanon, where Hariri rescinded his resignation.
He resigned again as prime minister after nationwide protests in 2019 demanding the wholesale overhaul of Lebanon’s political class.
In a tearful 2022 announcement, he said he had suspended his political activities and those of his party, citing “Iranian influence” among other reasons.
The source told AFP that all these reasons had now “vanished.”
For decades, Hezbollah was Lebanon’s dominant political force, but its arsenal and leadership were decimated during its war with Israel, while Syrian ally Bashar Assad’s ouster cut the group’s vital arms supply lines.
’New chance’
In January, former army chief Joseph Aoun was elected president after a more than two-year vacuum.
He was widely seen as the United States and Saudi Arabia’s preferred choice.
This month, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who had been presiding judge at the International Criminal Court, formed a government. On Friday, Salam visited Rafic Hariri’s tomb to pay his respects.
“Lebanon has been given a new chance as Iranian influence is declining and the international community has returned,” the source said.
Riyadh has recently retaken an interest in Lebanese politics after distancing itself for years over Hezbollah’s influence.
“Saudi Arabia seeks a strong, organized Sunni leadership,” said Imad Salamey, head of the International and Political Studies Department at the Lebanese American University.
“If (Saad) Hariri can present himself as that figure, his return would serve both his interests and those of the kingdom.”
His father’s assassination anniversary “will serve as an opportunity to assess his ability to mobilize support and reassert his leadership within the Sunni community,” Salamey added.
Hariri was thrust into the political limelight following his father’s murder, widely attributed to Damascus and Hezbollah at the time, which triggered massive protests that drove Syrian troops out of Lebanon after 29 years of occupation.
Rafic Hariri was a billionaire and the architect of Lebanon’s reconstruction era after the 1975-1990 civil war.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, is desperate to prove it has not lost ground to political rivals.
After the airport protests, authorities said they were working to bring back Lebanese passengers stranded in Iran using two Middle East Airlines planes.
But on Friday a source from the national carrier told AFP that Tehran had denied them permission to land in a tit-for-tat move.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of using Lebanon’s only airport to transfer weapons from Iran, claims the group and Lebanese officials have denied, with the army reinforcing security measures there in past months.


Fourteen Gaza children flown to Italy for treatment

Fourteen Gaza children flown to Italy for treatment
Updated 14 February 2025
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Fourteen Gaza children flown to Italy for treatment

Fourteen Gaza children flown to Italy for treatment

Rome: Fourteen Palestinian children, many with cancer, have been flown to Italy for medical treatment, the latest among dozens brought from Gaza following the Hamas-Israel war, the foreign ministry said Friday.
The children and their families, a total of 45 people, had on Wednesday crossed the Rafah border from Gaza into Egypt, where they underwent medical checks at the Italian hospital in Cairo, officials said.
They were flown to Italy on an Italian military plane, and greeted at Rome’s Ciampino airport on Thursday evening by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Treating the children was part of Italy’s efforts to promote peace and dialogue in the region, he said Friday, a “diplomacy made of solidarity, which restores hope to the most fragile and defenseless.”
Some of the children were due to be treated in the capital, the others heading north for treatment in hospitals including in Turin and Milan, a ministry spokesman said.
Two of the children disembarked in Rome were headed for the Vatican’s Bambino Gesu hospital, which treated nine other Palestinian children last year.
All those nine, ranging from one to 15 years old, have been discharged, a hospital spokesman told AFP.
Italy is among several European countries to treat children injured or suffering from disease in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023.
“Every child we bring to Italy is a sign of hope, a commitment to life and the future,” Defense Secretary Guido Crosetto said.
The first 11 Palestinian children arrived in Italy in January 2024, followed by dozens more in the months that followed, some flown in and some transported on the Italian naval ship Vulcano.