Reversing Netanyahu’s designs on West Bank

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will say and do anything to win the upcoming Israeli general elections.

For starters, Netanyahu has deliberately heated up the front with Gaza by provoking Hamas in so many ways that could lead to a confrontation that neither side can win. Next was Hizbollah's turn when Israeli drones hit its offices and sites where, allegedly, Hizbollah-made drones are being assembled with the direct aid and support of Iran.

To top it all, Netanyahu has just announced that he intends to extend Israeli sovereignty to all the Jewish settlements in the West Bank in due course. This means there would be very little territory left for the Palestinians on which they may establish their own independent state.

Ironically, there has been little or no reaction from the major powers to these active Israeli provocations, especially from President Donald Trump. The muted reaction of other major powers to all of Netanyahu’s provocations must also have sent a clear message to him that he has a free hand to do anything he wants against the Palestinians and their territories.

Meanwhile, the Israeli prime minister is busy flirting with extreme right-wing parties in Israel in a bid to secure maximum support for his own agenda.

It is a foregone conclusion that if Netanyahu gets another term in office as the next Israeli prime minister it will seal forever the future of the West Bank in favour of Israel. Unless, of course, the international community, including the US, wakes up from its slumber and does something meaningful to reverse the designs of Israel on what is left of the West Bank. Otherwise, at the rate Netanyhau's plans and designs are succeeding, the fortunes of real peace on the Palestinian front will be sealed against the Palestinians for as long as one can see.

Above all, the two-state solution, for which hope has been building until now, would become void of all meaning.

In the final analysis, it is up to the Israeli people to reverse the tide of Netanyahu and like-minded Israeli leaders by electing a new leadership that will offer them and their children hope for lasting peace and prosperity.