Annexing Judea and Samaria.

I was just reading the NY Times editorial, Sunday, May 31, to get their point of view.  It's the point of view of those against Israel annexing Judea and Samaria, land designated as Area C in the Oslo accord.  It was part of the land that was to be negotiated with the Palestinian Authority as part of a peace treaty.

First, let's be clear,  Arafat and then Abbas wanted nothing to do with any peace treaty despite the generous offers made by Israeli prime ministers.  My guess is that they figured they could make more money for themselves by leaving the matter unresolved.  From the funding they've received from Europe, Iran and the U.S. they may have been on to something.

But in the affairs of nations, nothing stands still.  We have come to a point where Israel offers far more to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE than do the Palestinians.  For Russia and China the analysis gets more complex, but working with Israel would seem to also offer more to them than working with the Palestinians.

So what's holding up Israel's annexation?

International Law?  That's what the NYTimes would argue, but they'd be wrong.

The international community and their organizations would be displeased and the UN would condemn it.  So argues the NY Times.  No kidding.  These world bodies condemn everything that Israel does  and for behavior far less egregious than that of other member nations.  The only time that Israel received a serious blow is when Obama failed to veto a Security Counsel resolution.  But, that was Obama.  Who knows?  Maybe Biden would follow in the footsteps of Obama.  This time, however,  Israel has more cards to play.

Could the Palestinians make trouble?  Sure.  But the days of bombing Israeli buses are over.  Today it's incendiary balloons launched by Hamas.  I think Israel will be able to cope.

The peace process is a unicorn that no longer exists.  And, truth be told, if Israel found itself having to find employment for the Palestinians in the land left to them, it would be the best thing that had ever happened to the Palestinians.  Suddenly  the Palestinians would find themselves freed of the yoke of corruption and from leaders who have no interest in their welfare.