https://arab.news/wf8u5
For weeks, the question on Palestine hurled incessantly at every talking head, expert and nonexpert alike, has been “what comes next?” A full-scale genocide in Gaza has morphed into a semi-ceasefire, an on-off Israeli war that will test the Trump administration’s resolve. How long can senior American figures spend “Bibi-sitting” before the president gets fed up?
But if the new normal becomes this slowed down genocide, with fewer bombings and minimal aid, what are Benjamin Netanyahu’s options? For the last two years, his approach has been escalation on steroids. He possibly fears quiet on the domestic front and what that might mean for his court appearances, so he has fired up every front from Gaza to Iran.
All fronts are viable options for the Israeli leader. Iran might be the riskiest. Syria perhaps not right now as the new Syrian president is heading to Washington in a week’s time. Netanyahu is eyeing up Lebanon, with the intensity of Israeli strikes increasing.
Yet the West Bank must be the most tempting item on the geopolitical arsonist’s menu. Firstly, this is what matters to him and his fellow firebrands in the ruling Israeli coalition. Finalizing the takeover of the West Bank is the dream of the “Greater Israel” fan club. Secondly, not only would he superglue his shaky coalition together for some more time, but he also would be less likely to encounter internal opposition to this. Thirdly, US President Donald Trump may have ruled out formal annexation of the West Bank, but this is not what matters — it is the program of ethnic cleansing and settler colonization that endangers Palestinian existence. Between January and mid-September, Israel approved a record 25,000 settlement units.
