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Time for Arabs to adopt forceful posture against Israel

Apr 08,2019 - Last updated at Apr 08,2019

It came as no surprise when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during an interview on Israel’s Channel 12 on Saturday that he is going to extend Israel’s sovereignty to the illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, or when he also said: “I do not distinguish between settlement blocs and isolated settlements.”

This is, of course, only the beginning of creeping Israeli annexations of Palestinian lands. Netanyahu is obviously hoping to win support from hardline Israelis by declaring his intention to annex more and more Palestinian lands to Israel once he is reelected.

The Israeli leader is obviously encouraged by US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017, and by his recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights.

The appetite of Netanyahu for Palestinian and Arab territories has no limit and where it will end is the big question.

The Palestinians would not be surprised now if, once reelected as the next prime minister of Israel, Netanyahu would even go an extra mile in his belligerent and provocative policies by annexing the entire West Bank.

The number of settlements that Netanyahu is now contemplating the annexation of occupies a large portion of the West Bank already. Once their occupation and annexation is fully digested, Israel, under Netanyahu, would complete the journey of aggrandisement of Palestinian lands by annexing most of the West Bank if not all of it.

Meanwhile, all that the Arabs say or can say is to reiterate their faith in a peace negotiation with Israel. This corrupt Arab policy cannot undo the damage already done to the Palestinian cause. It is time that the Palestinians and the Arab world change course, and instead of pleading for peace talks, they should adopt a more forceful posture that Israel and its supporters would understand more.

There must be an alternative to just praying for relaunching the now sterile talk about a peaceful settlement with Israel. This reconsideration of posture by the Arab side would require a sober analysis of the options that could still be available. Otherwise, the Palestinians and their Arab supporters would continue to live in a dream world that has no end.

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