As a true friend of Israel, Canada needs to condemn Netanyahu’s West Bank annexation plans

With the eyes of the world focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and the road to recovery, important matters of foreign policy have understandably been put on the back burner by politicians, especially here in Canada. This does not mean that the Canadian government should turn a blind eye to events happening across the world and should still work in concert with its allies to exert pressure on countries when needed. Today, that united pressure needs to be applied to Israel before it embarks on a dangerous path towards the annexation of territories in the West Bank. On April 28, Israel celebrated its 72nd birthday, something a few thought would never be possible. While it remains a refuge for persecuted Jews from around the world, Israel has evolved into a military, economic, and a technological powerhouse in an ever-hostile neighbourhood. It has open diplomatic relations with formal foes and increasingly normalized relations with several Gulf states. Simply put, Israel has never been more secure in its borders. All this makes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rush to annex large swaths of the West Bank foolhardy. Canada, as an import ally to Israel, should join with Joe Biden, presumptive Democratic Party presidential candidate, and our European partners to condemn the move and urge Netanyahu to put the brakes on this reckless plan. During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel captured lands that provided strategic depth for a nation that lived under a constant threat of war by enemies determined to eliminate it as well as an occupation of several million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has made peace with Egypt and Jordan, moves which monumentally bolstered the Jewish state’s long-term security. Israel also embarked on the difficult path to making peace with her Palestinian neighbours based on a two-state solution. This plan is largely premised on the notion that Israel will relinquish its control over the West Bank and dismantle most Jewish settlements sprinkled throughout the area in return for peace with the Palestinians. Netanyahu’s plans to annex these Jewish settlements will put a death knell on a peace process that is already on life support following waves of terrorist attacks and ever-increasing settlement growth on contested land. With approximately 400,000 Jews living in West Bank settlements today and another 200,000 or so more living in East Jerusalem, the desired future capital of a Palestinian state, the spectre of peace remains minimal. Despite strong security cooperation between the two sides, trust is at a low, and neither is ready to make the compromises needed to end the conflict. No reasonable analyst or politician is calling for Israel to exit the West Bank today, especially following the lessons learned from the 2005 unilateral withdrawal of the Israeli military and civilian presence from Gaza. Most negotiators are currently hoping to simply maintain the status quo to avoid further hindering the prospects of future leaders to achieve peace. Peacemakers recognize that the eventual solution would involve land swaps seeing Israel keep control over some large West Bank settlement blocs in any future deal. Despite two past intifadas (uprisings) and the dormant state of the formal peacemaking efforts, a fragile calm currently exists in the West Bank, and Israeli security coordination with the Palestinian Authority remains critical for the safety of citizens in the Jewish state. Simmering tensions there could easily erupt following annexation. For decades, American presidents, of both political stripes, have tried and failed to bring peace to the Middle East. The election of Donald Trump in 2016 brought about a dramatic shift in American policy in the region that has aligned it with the right wing of the Israeli political spectrum. In November 2019, the United States announced that they no longer viewed Jewish settlements in the West Bank as contrary to international law (against the overwhelming international consensus held by nearly every country, including Canada). Trump also broke with tradition and recognized the Israeli 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights and moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. These measures, along with the release of Trump’s long-awaited but dead-on-arrival peace plan dubbed the “deal of the century” earlier this year, have emboldened Netanyahu to pursue the haphazard annexation plan. As outlined in the coalition agreement with a faction of the purportedly centrist Blue and White Party headed by Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi, Netanyahu will be able to start the formal process of annexing Jewish West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley on July 1 of this year. Netanyahu will argue that he is simply taking steps outlined in the Trump plan, knowing full well that the Palestinians have rejected the plan outright. It will likely bring an end to security coordination and possibly to the Palestinian Authority, who, despite their many missteps, remain committed to a two-state solution. It could lead to another intifada, which would cause the deaths of countless civilians on both sides. Given such a move will inevitably cause anger on the streets of Arab countries, West Bank annexation threatens the Jordanian and Egyptian peace treaties and Israeli cooperation with Arab states across the Gulf. Annexation would likely mark the final blow to the peace process as it makes a viable Palestinian state all but impossible. While those on the Israeli right argue that Netanyahu is only proposing to annex 30 per cent of the West Bank, his plan involves not only the large settlement blocs close to the Green Line, but also the far-flung settlements scattered throughout the West Bank, as well as the roads connecting them to the rest of the country. Without the possibility of a two-state solution, Israel will need to grapple with being a Jewish state versus a state for all the people between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. It will be nearly impossible to remain both. Concerns that annexation will have severely detrimental impacts on Israel’s short and long-term security have spurred the mobilization of senior veterans from Israel’s security services to oppose the move. Hundreds of former Israeli Defence Forces, Mossad, Shin Bet, and police chiefs and officers have formed Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS), and their members have placed anti-annexation ads in several Israeli papers. CIS leaders also recently published an article in Foreign Policy Magazine lambasting the move. The looming U.S. presidential election this November is exacerbating Netanyahu’s rush towards annexation. Recently, Joe Biden expressed serious concern with the move. The Israeli prime minister is worried that if Trump is not re-elected, he will have missed his chance to cement his legacy in this way. Biden joins leading diplomats from the European Union and 12 European countries, including the United Kingdom and France, in criticizing the plan, warning that there will be consequences for Israel should it choose to pursue it. Though Canada’s long-held position is supportive of a negotiated agreement to the Israeli-Arab conflict and recognizes that settlements are illegal under international law, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne and the rest of the Canadian government have been silent as Israel careens towards annexation. Much to the chagrin of anti-Israel activists, Canada is a strong friend of Israel. A real friend will find the courage to speak up when the other is pursuing a dangerous path. Netanyahu does not believe that the international community, especially distracted by COVID-19, will do much to oppose annexation, but it is not too late to show him that he is wrong and demand that he reverses course. Right now, maintaining the health and security of all Canadians is of utmost importance. But we must not forget our role on the international stage. Canada needs to join with its allies and stand up as a friend to Israel, and as a believer in democracy and security to oppose this perilous plan. Raphael Brass is a senior consultant at Bluesky Strategy Group in Ottawa. A duel Canadian-Israel national, Brass is a former Liberal staffer and is involved with several Jewish advocacy groups. The Hill Times