- Re: Gideon Levy: Let Israel Annex the West Bank. It's the Least Worst Option for Palestinians Archived Message
Posted by johnlilburne
on May 12, 2020, 1:22 am, in reply to "Re: Gideon Levy: Let Israel Annex the West Bank. It's the Least Worst Option for Palestinians"
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I remember hearing Finkelstein speak about 15 years ago at Leeds Uni. He was fairly optimistic that the occupation could be ended and a two state solution achieved. He thought the existing settlers could be persuaded to leave, given the right terms. He was into Gandhian civil disobedience at the time, as I recall. I think he is less optimistic now, even despairing. Israel has shifted ever further to the right, the settlers are not just on the ground (and on more and more of it) but also influential and firmly entrenched in the political sphere and in the IDF. The two state solution is dead, leftist meme or not. And, admittedly, so is an inclusivist one state solution, in the short and medium term at least. Israel can do pretty much what it likes as long as it is backed by the US, which it is, more for geopolitical reasons than out of love. What the Israelis fear most is abandonment by the US, which they may be if they are no longer deemed useful. They could threaten the Samson Option and bring down the Temple. But would they be that mad? And give their Christian Zionists 'friends' what they most desire? Armageddon? The Rapture? |