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Can Palestinians Stop Israel from Declaring Sovereignty over Parts of West Bank?
(Atlantic Council) Jonathan Ferziger - As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks a green light from the White House to declare sovereignty over 30% of the West Bank, Palestinians are scrambling to galvanize international opposition to the plan while battling skepticism that they can do anything to stop it. Israel's expected assertion of sovereignty in the Jordan Valley and most of the West Bank settlements is a key part of the U.S. "Peace to Prosperity" vision. While the Arab League formally condemned the plan on April 30, as did 11 European ambassadors, neither Israel nor the U.S. has blinked. Looking at how the world has acceded to Israel's 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights, which was captured in the 1967 war, the current international opposition is unlikely to block similar action in the West Bank. Riad Al Khouri, an Amman-based economist and political risk consultant at GeoEconomica, said, "Abbas is going to foam at the mouth, he's going to chew the carpet, he's going to spend a whole day screaming his head off about the Palestinian holocaust and how this is the end, because he has to, because his public posture demands it. Behind the scenes, he's going to be looking for a quid pro quo."