Netanyahu’s plan to end the two-state solution militarily: The West Bank on the Road to Gaza

By Elijah J. Magnier:

Since 7 October, Israel has arrested more than 10,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and killed more than 650 in an attempt to provoke an uprising that would allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to justify waging multi-front wars against the Palestinian presence. This intention has been evident since Netanyahu came to power in 1996 following the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin – a murder instigated by Netanyahu’s rejection of the 1993 Oslo Accords. Since then, Netanyahu has refused to allow the Palestinians any semblance of statehood in the land of Palestine. As such, Netanyahu has given the occupation forces carte blanche to launch a large-scale operation that will “last several days” in the Jenin and Tulkarm camps. This is the most significant such operation in 22 years, following “Operation Defensive Shield” in 2002, when the Israeli army invaded the entire West Bank.

The military offensive continues in the West Bank camps, particularly in Jenin, mirroring in miniature the devastation and war crimes in Gaza. These actions by Netanyahu are a predictable escalation following the Knesset’s approval to end the idea of a Palestinian state by launching large-scale military operations in the West Bank, an attempt to secure the political victory he needs after failing to extinguish the resistance in Gaza.

This strategy is in line with the aspirations of the majority of the Israeli population, which increasingly favours extremism and a prime minister who is using military force on multiple fronts to demonstrate that Israel has regained its lost deterrent power, especially with the unwavering support of the United States. Although America is officially committed to the two-state solution, Washington has pushed the Palestinian Authority to take control of Gaza in the post-war period, effectively ousting Hamas.