Naftali Bennett, the new darling of Israeli politics, has made the annexation of the 60+ percent of the West Bank known as “Area C” the centerpiece of his campaign. Haaretz’s Amira Hass today puts his proposal in historical context:
When Habayit Hayehudi party leader and rising political star Naftali Bennett calls for annexing Area C, the part of the West Bank under full Israeli security and civil control, he is following the logic of every single Israeli government: maximize the territory, minimize the Arabs.
…Bennett can propose annexation because every governing coalition since the Six-Day War – whether it was led by the Likud or Labor… laid the spiritual and policy groundwork for him.
…As I have said a million times and will say another million times: Area C is a tremendous success of Israeli policy and its implementers, the army and the Civil Administration. It is part of a farsighted, well-executed, perfectly thought-out policy…. Bennett is probably decent/honest enough to acknowledge the debt he owes to the previous generations of Israeli politicians and military officials who warmed the country up for his annexation plan, ensuring its acceptance would be as effortless as a knife cutting butter in the sun.
… In other words, the aim – unfolded with the advent of time – has been to concentrate the Palestinians in reserves, after most of their land had been robbed of them. And if they desert and move abroad, it’s of their own free will…
This is the real Israeli historical compromise. It is not with the Palestinians, but with the dictates of reality and among the various Zionist ideological currents. The crowded, offensive reservations – the creation of which is violence, pure and simple – are a compromise between the craving to eject the Palestinians from their land and the recognition that regional and international conditions do not permit it.
“other words, the aim – unfolded with the advent of time – has been to concentrate the Palestinians in reserves, after most of their land had been robbed of them. And if they desert and move abroad, it’s of their own free will…”
But they won’t leave. Even if they live in abject poverty controlled to the nearest cent by Israel. Because they know Israel is just another historical contingency.
And the only answer to historical contingency is sumud.
If poverty and pauperisation worked as policy there wouldn’t be a 50/50 population split today.
The bots do not understand that the land means to their neighbours. They’ll never leave it. Ahla Filisteen is their Yad va Shem – THE name, THE place. That light. The scent of those trees. That accent.
Just as Jeff Halper explained:
https://mondoweiss.mystagingwebsite.com/2012/10/see-how-israeli-colonies-killed-the-two-state-solution.html.
Relentless low motion ethnic cleansing, with periods of exuberance
Amira Hass nails it – I’ve never heard of such a good description of the incremental ‘Area C’ plan in overview
Amira Hass has it exactly right, it has been the Israeli plan all along, from both the right and left of Israeli politics, the question is why, when this was so obvious, from the continuing Israeli settlements building not only from 1967, but from day one of the Oslo accords, when Israel was supposed to stop all settlement activity, the Palestinian leadership have been, and continue to be inept, they must dig their heels in and use all legal means [the ICC] to try and stop the ethnic cleansing, it will be tough as all resistance to a ruthless stronger power will be, it may not even work,but I cannot see why not, the sooner we know the better, the alternative, to appeal to outside powers the US/EU to do something they have manifestly failed to do in 45 years, is to put hope before experience, anyone who threatens another with serious consequences if the injured party makes use of the legal system, as US/ Israel have, should be treated with utter contempt.
There is no question but that the idea is to encourage non-Jews to leave the West Bank. By whatever means can be employed.