CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

The Slippery Slope of Israel’s Annexation of the West Bank

Photograph Source: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit photographer – CC BY-SA 3.0

It has been hot in Switzerland. Temperatures have hovered around 35C (95F) during recent peaks. One longs for cooler, even cold weather. And yet, when it comes to war, it is often hot conflicts that attract attention. What continues for years, even decades, can gradually become background. And as it does, what was once considered temporary and exceptional can begin to look normal and permanent. Israel’s recent announcement that authority in the West Bank will be transferred from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to Israeli police may seem like a small, technical decision. But its consequences could be far-reaching in Israel’s drive to create a Greater Israel.

Israel’s occupation of the West Bank since 1967 is moving towards permanence. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on August 14: “The IDF’s role is to fight Palestinian terrorism, focus on defending the borders and communities against threats, deal with the borders and the territory itself and with security threats to the settlements and the State of Israel, and not to chase after youths on the hills.”

Katz then added: “All responsibility for dealing with and enforcing [the law] concerning the communities and settlers and civilian matters will be transferred to the responsibility of the Israel Police.” David M. Halbfinger and Adam Rasgon reported in the New York Times that Katz declared it was “not the I.D.F’s role” and that it was unable “to address the enforcement of civil matters” in the West Bank in light of the “welcome increase” in the number of Israeli settlers there.

That transfer of power is another step in a process of making a temporary........

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