On July 1, Israel intends to begin the annexation of the Jordan Valley and the Jewish towns and cities of the West Bank. The problem is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing this while distancing himself from other parts of the Mideast plan that the Trump administration put together. Without the whole package, it will likely fail badly.
The annexation was meant to be an early down-payment to Israel in the broader context of the American vision for peace in the Middle East. That plan has many parts, but at its heart is the creation of a Palestinian state, with limited sovereignty, in roughly 70 percent percent of the West Bank and, eventually, all of Gaza.
Netanyahu was well aware of this when he enthusiastically embraced the plan back in January. He had been touting a "state-minus” solution for years exactly like the proposed state in the Trump plan. Ramallah can raise a flag, but not an army. It can have a capital in the outskirts of Jerusalem, but not downtown. Palestinian police can keep the peace on their own streets as long as they protect the streets of Israel. Palestinian civilians living abroad would be welcome to enter, but not hostile armies.
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