Israel Defies Global Outcry With West Bank Annexation
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- Israel proceeded earlier this month with the de facto annexation of the West Bank, a territory it has illegally occupied since 1967 and home to more than three million Palestinians, defying a chorus of global condemnation and international law.
- Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and the Republic of Ireland are refusing to participate in Eurovision to protest Israel's presence, while a global campaign is under way to suspend Israel from both UEFA and FIFA football competitions.
- Benjamin Netanyahu still has a strong chance of winning elections set for this year, with opposition to him stemming largely from domestic policy disagreements rather than his treatment of Palestinians, whom many Israelis remain "indifferent" to.
- Orly Noy, editor of Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, said most Israelis do not know the West Bank has been largely annexed because it is not reported that way, and that the Eurovision withdrawals are being framed domestically as motivated primarily by anti-Semitism.
- Israeli television has overwhelmingly focused war coverage on the number of "terrorists" killed and the approximately 250 captives taken in 2023, with little of the carnage in Gaza reaching viewers despite more than 72,000 Palestinians killed.
- Neve Gordon, a professor of international law at Queen Mary University of London, described the anti-Semitism accusation as a "second Iron Dome" used by lawmakers to deflect state criticism, while Daniel Bar-Tal of Tel Aviv University said many Israeli Jews have a "siege mentality" and the nation has been "indoctrinated" into viewing criticism through the lens of existential threat.
Why it matters: The de facto annexation of territory home to over 3 million Palestinians proceeds even as South Africa's genocide case advances at the ICJ and ICC warrants target Netanyahu — exposing a widening gap between diplomatic isolation and actual policy change. Netanyahu's continued electoral viability demonstrates that international legal mechanisms have not disrupted the domestic political dynamics sustaining the war.
