According to paragraph 29 of the agreement cementing Israel’s governing coalition, prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu can introduce a bill in the Knesset after June 30 that would apply Israeli sovereignty to certain portions of Judea and Samaria not currently under the Palestinian Authority’s control. Stephen Daisley writes:
[A] sovereignty bill, if it passes into law, will simply begin the process of implementing the Trump administration’s peace plan. . . . The United States intends to recognize this Israeli sovereignty provided Jerusalem agrees to map out a Palestinian state with its opposite numbers in Ramallah.
Come July 1, Britain will view Israel’s application of its laws to its communities in Judea and Samaria as no different from Russia’s invasions and annexation of the Crimea. That is an unsustainable situation, not least when it involves a friendly nation that furnishes us with vital intelligence on national security threats.
In preparation for likely changes to Israel’s map, the UK should recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, commit to moving its embassy there once the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, and affirm, as the U.S. has, that civilian settlements are not “per-se inconsistent with international law.”
The sovereignty bill Netanyahu is likely to bring forward will leave the Palestinians with the vast majority of Judea and Samaria. Along with Gaza, this gives them substantial territory on which to found their state. Any country that considers itself a friend to the Palestinians should beg them to take the deal and end the conflict. Britain should right a historical wrong by affirming a promise it made a century ago and never again should it treat an ally like an “illegal occupier” in its own land.
Read more on Spectator: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/Israel-s-coalition-deal-means-the-Trump-Peace-Plan-is-back-on-track