They shouldn’t weigh annexation, they should announce it as the planned response. The Palis have to know that if they act unilaterally, Israel will essentially take those areas off the table forever. They should do so anyway, but they’ve put them in play (foolishly) so that would be very difficult for them to do unilaterally right now.
BTW, since no one asked, I was sad when Rabin was assassinated, but the plain fact is that what he did in allowing the PLO to gain control of the arab areas of the so-called West Bank and giving them legitimacy was the greatest blunder in the history of the modern State of Israel. The present conundrum, on top of the murder and maiming of thousands of Israelis, all stem from that act.
They should immediately annex Judea (Jew-day-uh, from whence the name Jew is derived) and Samaria. The high ground can never be given to these blood thristy savages to rain missiles down on the coastal plain.
Indeed. The whole point of negotiating a 2 state agreement is not about settlements. It is about cooperation on issues such as water (and many others).
If Palestinians do not want to negotiate then, I agree with you, Israel should announce its plans. Israel withdrew from Gaza, it can withdraw from some of the West Bank too - it doesn’t even need the Palestinians to declare a state.
What is never thought about or talked about is how much the Palestinians need Israel. Someone up-thread mentioned water, electricity and hospitals. Yes that is true. But so much more! Roads, transportation, importation and export of foods. Currency (Palestinians use Israeli currency, what are they going to do start printing their own?). Not to mention that as a state the Palestinians best friend will be Israel - Israel will be their #1 employer and #1 trading partner.
All that goes away if the Palestinians don’t negotiate a deal but go for one unilaterally.
And ultimately the reason Israel would unilaterally annex land is because there are about 400,000 Israelis living there AND because Israel’s water/sewage system is connected to the underground reservoirs there as well. Israel is not going to unilaterally relinquish water rights it has used (and has international right to use because of prior use rights) for almost 50 years.