Unlawful, unwise and immoral

The following is an excerpt from an editorial in The Guardian:

Annexation looks like the executioner of the two-state solution. Israel has changed the facts on the ground, with the rapid growth of settlements rendering that goal less and less viable. But the declaration of sovereignty over parts of the occupied territories, in putting a formal seal on physical realities, will be a new and terrible moment, and above all a fresh injustice to Palestinians.

Whenever annexation comes, and whatever precise form it takes, it will breach international law.

The consequences for Israel and its neighbours are far-reaching and potentially calamitous. More than 200 former leaders from Mossad, Shin Bet, the military and the police have said that it risks igniting “a serious conflagration,” including through the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. King Abdullah of Jordan warned of a “massive conflict.”

What is unarguable is that annexation is wrong. Israeli voices that angrily rejected comparisons with apartheid South Africa in the past now draw it themselves as they contemplate the institutionalization of the military occupation, without the granting of citizenship or equal rights to Palestinians.

Labour has said it will support a ban on Israeli imports made in West Bank settlements if the annexation goes ahead. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has warned that its ties with Israel will “inevitably” retract. Be they diplomatic or economic, real consequences are now required.