As talks of a potential ceasefire deal in Gaza resurface, discussions around the “day-after” arrangements have reignited regional speculation, not only regarding the Gaza Strip, but also the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
However, analysts and Palestinian officials say that what is being promoted is little more than a recycled political mirage: calm in exchange for silence, reconstruction at the cost of dignity.
Observers argue that Israel, backed once again by Washington under the presidency of Donald Trump, is reviving old rhetoric – promoting deals without substance and promises that mask ongoing war efforts and accelerated settlement expansion both in Gaza and the West Bank.
The underlying aim, they say, is not to end the war but to cement its consequences.
In recent days, several US and Israeli media outlets have reported that a ceasefire deal between Tel Aviv and Hamas, brokered in part by Washington, may be imminent. Such a deal could serve as the launchpad for reshaping the political landscape in Palestine and across the broader Middle East.
In relation to the West Bank, according to the newspaper Israel Hayom, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering asking for Trump’s approval for annexing significant parts of the West Bank in exchange for his support for halting the war, a move Trump is said to be pushing.
The paper also claims that during a recent phone call, Netanyahu expressed to Trump a conditional openness to a Palestinian state, contingent upon sweeping reforms within the Palestinian Authority (PA) and US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Israeli intelligence assessments suggest the government plans to boost its military presence in the West Bank in anticipation of possible unrest once the Gaza offensive ends. These developments are said to be part of a broader US-Israeli strategy to impose new political realities across the region.
Despite mounting reports, Netanyahu’s office has officially denied the existence of any such plan, calling the claims “media fiction.” Deep divisions persist within the Israeli Cabinet between those pushing for a “total victory” in Gaza and others favouring a ceasefire and longer-term de-escalation.
What remains consistent, according to the Israeli media, is that Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump in Washington next Monday.
The meeting, advanced following urgent US-Israeli consultations, is expected to coincide with the final phase of negotiations on a possible ceasefire. Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is currently in Washington, while National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi is reportedly en route to Cairo to help mediate a last-ditch deal.
In a separate development, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar reiterated his government’s commitment to unilateral actions, including the annexation of Israeli settlements and the Jordan Valley.
Simultaneously, Israel’s far-right government has approved the legalisation of 22 new settlements, including the conversion of illegal outposts into officially recognised communities in a move widely condemned by the international community.
Commenting on recent political manoeuvres, Israeli affairs expert Raafat Jawabra told Al-Ahram Weekly that the proposals reportedly being discussed represent a repackaging of the long-standing vision of Israel’s right-wing: eliminate the role of Palestinian resistance, tether Gaza’s future to regional alliances, and offer no pathway to genuine Palestinian sovereignty.
Jawabra described the emerging discourse as a tactical manoeuvre aimed at easing international pressure on Israel, without signalling any meaningful shift in Israeli policy, which, he said, continues to reject the existence of an independent Palestinian state in practice.
He warned that what is unfolding is part of a broader, systematic plan to permanently shut the door on the two-state solution. The aim, he said, is to replace the political dimensions of the conflict with “administrative arrangements” that confine Palestinians to fragmented enclaves under a fragile self-governance model.
Jawabra argued that such moves align fully with the agenda of Israel’s current government, which has been advancing creeping annexation under a veneer of legal formalisation. He pointed to intentions to impose full Israeli sovereignty, particularly in Area C of the Occupied West Bank, with the support of hardline forces within the United States.
In the light of this trajectory, Jawabra called for a robust Palestinian political and diplomatic response that redefines the role of the PA and blocks attempts to relegate it to a local security subcontractor under Israeli occupation.
Wasel Abu Yousef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), told the Weekly that Israel’s current government is pursuing a strategy of “final resolution” in an approach aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause entirely.
This, he said, includes erasing the right of return for refugees, denying the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, and blocking the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Abu Yousef argued that the Israeli leadership is exploiting the ongoing war, which has raged for over 630 days, involving mass destruction, killings, starvation tactics, and attempts to crush Palestinian resilience.
He added that similar aggression is being waged in the northern West Bank, where Israel has been systematically destroying refugee camps in Jenin and Tulkarm.
Nearly 200 homes have been demolished in the Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm Camps, with residents forcibly displaced.
He also highlighted daily arrest campaigns across the West Bank and a suffocating network of around 950 military checkpoints and roadblocks that fragment Palestinian life.
He reiterated the PLO’s demand for international sanctions against Israel, a full cessation of diplomatic ties, and legal accountability for Israeli officials, particularly through the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Warrants must be expanded against members of the Israeli government for crimes that clearly meet the threshold of war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he said.
Abu Yousef criticised the United States for shielding Israel at the UN Security Council and actively collaborating in undermining Palestinian national rights. “The veto power of the US protects Israel, and there is full partnership in efforts to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state,” he said.
He called for serious action at the Arab and international levels to confront Israeli policy and stressed the importance of implementing resolutions from various Arab League summits, including those held in Cairo, Palestine, and Baghdad.
Political analyst Adel Shadeed warned that the West Bank is undergoing a systematic and calculated campaign of annexation, Judaisation, and land appropriation orchestrated by the Israeli government.
This campaign, he said, is being reinforced through legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset, which is increasingly transferring administrative and service-related authority in the West Bank from the Israeli military commander, traditionally responsible for managing the Occupied Territory, to Israeli civil institutions.
This legislative shift effectively treats the West Bank as an integral part of Israel, applying the same legal and administrative standards used in Tel Aviv, Be’er Sheva, or Haifa,” Shadeed told the Weekly.
There is now a clear direction towards annexation,” he said, pointing to coordinated efforts between the Netanyahu government and the current US administration, which began with the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in Trump’s first term, a move interpreted as the formal US recognition of the city as Israel’s capital.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 3 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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