Russia annexed the city of Konigsberg, formally the capital of East Prussia, after WW II. It was renamed Kaliningrad after a Russian general. The total of 60,000 Germans were expelled from the city.
The takeover of Tibet by China was met with hardly any protests. More recently Russia’s takeover of the Crimean Peninsula met with some sanctions. The Russians are still there.
Jordan annexed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, after the 1948 war with Israel. The area had been part of England’s Mandatory Palestine. The annexation included the cities of Jericho, Bethlehem, Nablus, and East Jerusalem. In 1950, the annexation was declared illegal by most of the international community except by the United Kingdom, Iraq, and Pakistan. Israel won the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War. During Jordan rule over this area, synagogues were damaged or destroyed. The graves on the Mount of Olives were destroyed and gravestones were used as pavement or in latrines. The Temple Mount and Jewish cemeteries and the Western Wall were cordoned off and were declared a Muslim inaccessible to Israelis. Israel built Yamit, a village in the Sinai, after the 1967 Six Day War. Yamit was a village of 2,600 people. I visited Yamit several times. After the Six Day War, Israel acted to remove residents in keeping with an agreement reached with Egypt. The entire Sinai Peninsula was given to Egypt including oil wells that supplied Israel with a source of energy. forcibly Israelis were forcibly removed by the Israel Defense Force. Many Yamit residents wanted to remain even if they would live in Egyptian territory.
The “occupation” of disputed territory is addressed by two different versions about the legality of Israel’s presence in the West Bank. The international view is that Israel must remove itself from that territory. The other view is that when a country gains land due to a defensive war, it may take over the territory. Most countries, including the USA, adhere to the first position, citing their support for a two-state solution. (The Palestinians were offered a state in 1947,1967 and more recently by Prime Ministers Barack and Olmert. Every one of these offers were rejected.
The opposite of annexation is withdrawal as in Gaza. The territory was governed in the distant past by Greece, Syria, and others. After World War I, Britain captured the city. It became part of the British Mandate until after the 1948 Israel- Arab war when it came under Egyptian rule until the 1967 Six-Day War when it was taken over by Israel. Israel withdrew unilaterally in 2005 and was made Judenrein (free of Jews). There were 8,000 Israelis that lived there. They were relocated. Gaza is now a platform for acts of terror against Israel.
The current reaction to Prime minister Netanyahu’s proposal to annex 30% of the territory where an estimated 500,000 live has been met with criticism of the Left that are against that action. Israelis on the Right are opposed because they believe that not enough of the area is being included. The Trump administration backs the annexation plan. The democratic party spec Nancy Pelosi threatens Israel with lessening aid, 111 Democrats have signed a letter opposing the move.
An article by Israeli Michael Davison begins with: “There is no doubt that Israel has the right to annex parts of the West Bank.” He based his assertion that the government approved land, legitimately purchased from Arab landowners. He states that the settlements are on land approved on land defined as “state land.” The “Wildcat unapproved settlements were and are being dismantled by the Israeli government.
So where do we go from here? This is an issue should be resolved by the parties affected, Israelis and Palestinians. A neutral party could bring about a resolution. Most of the criticism about the annexation has to do with the idea that it would negatively impact an ultimate establishment of a Palestinian state. That position is not a solid one, as stated above, efforts to negotiate a solution have been rejected. With pressure solely on Israel, coming to an agreement is made difficult.
Koenigsberg lives in Overland Park, Kansas.
