A view of the Israeli settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim, in the occupied West Bank, on Aug. 4, 2022. (Credit: Menahem Kahana/AFP)
The Trump administration has yet to officially take over, as Palestinians in the West Bank brace for the worst. Since the former president and Republican billionaire’s reelection on Nov. 6, statements from far-right Israeli ministers and Trump's Middle East appointments have set the tone. Jewish supremacist Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Finance Minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, said on Monday that “the time has come” to apply full Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank.While these remarks are not new, many observers believe that Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election will embolden staunch supporters of the annexation of the territories occupied since 1967 — which could become a reality under the new administration. “The idea of annexing the West Bank is not new,” said Tahani Mustafa, an analyst at the...
The Trump administration has yet to officially take over, as Palestinians in the West Bank brace for the worst. Since the former president and Republican billionaire’s reelection on Nov. 6, statements from far-right Israeli ministers and Trump's Middle East appointments have set the tone. Jewish supremacist Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Finance Minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, said on Monday that “the time has come” to apply full Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank.While these remarks are not new, many observers believe that Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election will embolden staunch supporters of the annexation of the territories occupied since 1967 — which could become a reality under the new administration. “The idea of annexing the West Bank is not new,” said Tahani Mustafa, an...