Settlers and Palestinians unite in opposition to Israeli annexation

Khaled Abu Awad (R), a Palestinian from Bethlehem, and Shaul Judelman, an Israeli settler from nearby Teqoa settlement, who are both co-directors of movement of settlers and Palestinians called 鈥淪horashim-Judur鈥� (Hebrew and Arabic for 鈥淩oots鈥�) and who both published a petition against Israel鈥檚 intention to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, pose together for a picture during an interview at the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank on July 3, 2020. (AFP/Menahem Kahana)
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GUSH ETZION JUNCTION, Palestinian Territories: Some Israeli settlers agree with their Palestinian neighbors in the occupied West Bank that the Jewish state鈥檚 plan to annex part of the territory would undermine their years-long reconciliation efforts.
Palestinian Khaled Abu Awwad and Israeli rabbi Shaul Judelman live just a few miles away from each other in the southern West Bank, the former in Bethlehem and the latter in Tekoa, a settlement considered illegal by the international community.
The two are the joint directors of Shorashim-Judur, or Roots in Hebrew and Arabic, a movement founded in 2014 to establish dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians sharing the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
US President Donald Trump鈥檚 controversial peace plan paves the way for Israel to annex parts of the West Bank, including Jewish settlements considered illegal under international law.
In a statement this week Roots said unilateral annexation would constitute an 鈥渁ggression鈥� that would 鈥渟tand in opposition to the principle of mutual respect鈥� which is 鈥渢he foundation for advancing peace and security.鈥�
Roots has its headquarters in Gush Etzion, a bloc of two dozen settlements and outposts near Bethlehem that some have speculated will be among the first Israel would annex.
At a recent meeting there Abu Awwad and Judelman shared the concerns they have if Israel went ahead with its annexation plans.
On a terrace surrounded by olive trees, Abu Awwad compared annexation to a 鈥渄eclaration of war鈥� that could bring violence.
鈥淎ny unilateral decision cannot be a sign of reconciliation but on the contrary, raises the level of the conflict,鈥� he said.
Sitting next to him, Judelman said 鈥渋t is not enough to oppose annexation, people from both societies must unite and propose something else.鈥�
鈥淏ut it takes political leaders with courage to break the iron wall between our two societies,鈥� said the rabbi, his head covered with a large skullcap.
鈥淲e have a generation of Israelis who never met a Palestinian but only saw a terrorist on TV, and a generation of Palestinians who only saw an Israeli soldier and this is what Israelis are to him,鈥� said the rabbi, his head covered with a large skullcap.
Judelman said the 1993 Oslo peace accords 鈥� which split up the West Bank into three zones 鈥� created a divide between Israelis and Palestinians by saying 鈥測ou are here and you are there.鈥�
鈥淚t cannot work because both peoples are connected to the entire land,鈥� he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 center-right coalition government had set July 1 as the date it could begin implementing annexation but the date passed with no announcement.
His office said separate talks were ongoing with US officials 鈥渙n the application of sovereignty鈥� and with Israeli security chiefs.
Israeli annexation plans sparked sharp criticism in the international community, Arab world and within Israel itself, with the lack of apparent progress on the issue raising speculation Netanyahu was not seeking immediate action.
One of the many thorny issues in the possible annexation move was the question citizenship for Palestinians in areas Israel annexed.
鈥淎ny plan that does not put front and center the equal rights and mutual benefits that every Palestinian and Israeli deserves will not bring us closer to peace but rather distances us from it,鈥� the Roots statement said.
To Judelman, annexation is just the latest attempt of one side to force a solution on the other since the collapse of the Oslo accords, which were meant to be temporary and lead to the formation of a Palestinian state.