[Far from being an “aberration” from an otherwise
“democratic” Israel, the annexation plan reveals the nature of the
Israeli state itself – an entity founded on settler-colonial
expansion and the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian
people.] [[link removed]]

OPPOSE APARTHEID, NOT JUST ANNEXATION  
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Chance Charley
July 6, 2020
The Electronic Intifada
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_ Far from being an “aberration” from an otherwise
“democratic” Israel, the annexation plan reveals the nature of the
Israeli state itself – an entity founded on settler-colonial
expansion and the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian
people. _

Palestinians pass through a cage-like structure at a military
checkpoint separating Ramallah from Jerusalem. , Kish Kim SIPA USA

 

Though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for now shelved
plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank, the delay should
not disguise that the endeavor is a consequence of the ongoing
apartheid rule
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dispossession
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and genocide
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of the Palestinian people.

Far from being an “aberration” from an otherwise “democratic”
Israel, the annexation plan reveals the very nature of the Israeli
state itself – an entity founded on settler-colonial expansion and
the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian population.

The annexation plan is a dual effort of the US and Israel, an
imperialist scheme to redraw the borders in the Middle East once
again. It is an ambition connected to the laundry list of US and
Israeli aggression in the region – from the occupation of Iraq,
through the interventions (by boot, by drone and by proxy) in Syria
and Yemen, border clashes and threats of war with Lebanon, to
increasing tensions with Iran.

Furthermore, the plan would benefit Netanyahu’s consolidation of
power following over a year of electoral mayhem and corruption
investigations, allowing for a far more openly terroristic expression
of Zionism to dominate Israeli politics.

The move has already sparked a major backlash in Palestine and around
the world. Protests and demonstrations have taken place in numerous
countries, and many more are planned.

Large sections of the Black Lives Matter movement
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have expressed support for the Palestinian cause. Many have
highlighted the open collaboration [[link removed]] that
exists between US police forces and the Israeli occupation forces.

The UN and Arab League have called for Israel to “abandon”
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its annexation plans, and Belgium’s parliament unanimously approved
sanctions
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that would come into effect if Israel went ahead with its West Bank
annexations.

At the same time, International Criminal Court investigations
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against American troops in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in the
occupied territories continue in spite of US sanctions on court
officials imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Broad opposition gives reasons to be wary

All this demonstrates broad opposition to Israel’s annexation plan,
but also gives us reason to be skeptical
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given the record of these bodies. The Arab League’s opposition comes
even as prominent member countries such as the United Arab Emirates
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and Egypt
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are increasingly open with their support of, and collaboration with,
Israel.

Belgium’s government, too, has a record of aiding and abetting
Israeli settler-colonialism
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even as it expresses opposition to the more brazen annexation plans.

In the United States, the annexation plan is being opposed not only by
grassroots Palestine solidarity organizations, but also by established
pro-Israel politicians, such as Democratic Presidential nominee Joe
Biden
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Many Democrats
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and even some figures in the pro-Israel lobby, fear annexation will
irreparably damage the decades-long bipartisan support the US has
granted to the Zionist state.

This comes at a time where support for Palestine in the US is on the
rise
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in large part due to tireless grassroots organizing from diaspora
Palestinians and non-Palestinians alike. At the same time, criticism
of Israel and anti-Zionism is growing among young American Jews in
particular
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– something Israel is bound to view as a major problem, since the
support of the American Jewish population has often proved vital both
to the U.S.-Israel relationship and the Zionist project more broadly.

Unlike grassroots activists, opposition to the US-Israeli annexation
plan by Democratic Party elites and Zionist institutions is not due to
genuine opposition to Israeli expansionism, nor support for
Palestinian self-determination. On the contrary, calls from US
political elites and international bodies like the UN have generally
emphasized that their opposition to the annexation is not due to
opposition to the Israeli settler-colonial project. Rather, they see
the current annexation plan as a threat to the international
credibility of Israel.

Opposition to annexation alone – without taking a stand against
Zionism as such – provides a convenient distraction from the root of
the problem. Instead of opposing an apartheid system that has been
built up over 72 years, instead of questioning the very foundations of
a country built with the explicit purpose of colonialism and genocide,
a narrow focus on annexation builds up opposition only around a single
issue without connecting it to the broader problems at hand.

Fighting annexation not enough

Instead of struggling to bring the whole apartheid system to the
ground, this fixation on the annexation plan alone will only result in
the preservation of Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism. It is a
tactic to continue to deny the Palestinian people their right to
self-determination, by dangling the carrot of a “two-state
solution” in front of them, endlessly pursued but never attained.

This carrot-and-stick tactic has a long history in the international
community. For example, despite numerous UN General Assembly and
Security Council resolutions condemning Israel’s actions, the body
has not taken meaningful steps to intervene to stop Israeli
annexations or settler-colonialism.

Thus, recent statements by Michelle Bachelet
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– the current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – should be
viewed with some skepticism. While it is good that she has condemned
the annexation plan, the UN has shown time and time again it is not
willing to take a principled and uncompromising stand against
settler-colonialism in general – Kashmir springs to mind – and
Zionism in particular.

A similar hypocrisy plays out within Palestine, through a never-ending
and fruitless “peace process.” Palestinians have had their hopes
shattered time and time again as the “peace process” has only
perpetually extended the violent colonial reality in Palestine.

The Palestinian Authority
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supposedly a representative of the Palestinian people, has only a
façade of autonomy. Its real role is to serve Israel as both a
frontline police force against the Palestinian people, and as a force
that misleads the Palestinian people into placing their hopes in an
endless “peace process” that has only extended and entrenched
Israel’s grip over Palestine.

Both the international community and the peace process failed to
address the fundamental problem that faces the Palestinian people:
Land and political power continue to be monopolized by the Zionist
apartheid state established in 1948.

The only thing that will deliver the Palestinian people from Zionist
rule is the Palestinian people themselves, in their brave and
revolutionary struggle against colonialism and apartheid. This, of
course, does not mean that those outside of Palestine have no role to
play in the movement for a free Palestine and the movement to end the
Zionist apartheid state by establishing a secular and democratic one.
On the contrary, the international solidarity movement has played a
crucial role at times, especially in shifting public opinion and
exposing the criminal nature of the Israeli state.

Mass resistance to Israel’s annexation plans must grow and develop
around the world. Those who stand with the Palestinian freedom
struggle must continue to lend active support to the struggle, and not
be tricked by the fig leaf condemnations of politicians and
high-ranking international figures that try to hide their support for
Zionism behind the rhetoric of anti-annexationism.

But true solidarity with the Palestinian people means refusing to
accept anything less than the complete liberation of all of historic
Palestine from Zionist occupation. Poor and oppressed people around
the world have an interest in opposing the oppression of Palestinians,
because, as they know only too well, none of us are free if one of us
is chained.

_Chance Charley is president of Boston University Students for Justice
in Palestine._

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