Cutting residential: the situation in the West Bank is deteriorating
Israel is trying to undermine the activities of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Ahmed Majdaliani, Minister of Social Affairs of Palestine and member of the executive committee of the PLO, told Izvestia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said of the leaks indicating the Jewish state's desire to take control of the northwestern bank of the Jordan River. American President Donald Trump has promised to speak out on the future of the territory in the next four weeks. The Palestinian minister added that if the US and Israel attend an international conference on Palestine in June 2025, it would pave the way for peace in the region.
Military escalation in the West Bank
The situation in the West Bank continues to deteriorate rapidly. Israel is taking active steps aimed at undermining the activities of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Ahmed Majdaliani, Minister of Social Affairs of Palestine and member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Izvestia.
- The situation in the West Bank is extremely dangerous. Israel is trying to transfer the war there from the Gaza Strip, undermine the Palestinian Authority and create a state of chaos," he said. - It is an attempt to destroy all remaining components of life in the West Bank.
The Israeli army announced on Jan. 21 that it had launched a counterterrorism operation in the Jenin area. Shortly afterward, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the launch of an operation called "Iron Wall" and described its goal as "strengthening security" in the West Bank.
Against this background, there were loud statements by US President Donald Trump. He called the Gaza Strip a demolition site and proposed to resettle Palestinians from there, emphasizing that the US is not going to finance this process. In his opinion, the cost of resettlement should be borne by Middle Eastern countries with sufficient resources. The American president also said in his meeting with Netanyahu that the US would "take control" of the Gaza Strip and oversee the reconstruction of the region. Saudi Arabia has already responded to Trump's remarks, noting that Riyadh categorically rejects any action that infringes on the rights of the Palestinian people, including occupation and forced displacement.
Moscow proceeds from the Arab countries' rejection of the idea of evicting Palestinians and believes that a settlement in the Middle East can only take place on a two-state basis, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
U.S. President Donald Trump
Another potential cause for escalation could be Trump's upcoming statement on the status of the West Bank. He has promised to take a position in the next four weeks on whether Israel should have sovereignty over the territory.
Trump's words sound in unison with the actions of the Israeli authorities, which seek to weaken the influence of the NPA. Massive military operations continue, during which Palestinian towns and villages are subjected to blockades and raids. The Israeli authorities are blocking funding for the PNA, limiting tax revenues, which is leading to a fiscal crisis.
In addition, pressure on the local population is intensifying, with an increasing number of arrests and house demolitions, which disrupts the status quo and undermines the prospects for a peace settlement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the Valdai Club conference on February 4 about leaks indicating Israel's plans to continue military operations in the West Bank and its desire to take full control of the northwestern bank of the Jordan River.
According to the 1994 Paris Protocol on economic relations between Israel and the PLO, the Jewish state collected monthly taxes and duties on behalf of the Palestinians and transferred these funds to the Palestinian National Authority. Some of it went to fund its apparatus in the Gaza Strip. This is the PNA's largest source of income, accounting for about 70-75% of total revenue. In November 2023, Israel canceled an agreement with Norway to hold and transfer funds allocated to the Gaza Strip, ostensibly because Oslo recognized a Palestinian state.
International Conference on Palestine
Against the backdrop of the escalating situation in the West Bank, an international conference on the Palestinian question has been announced for June 2025. It will be chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.
- Work on the conference began last year. It was actively called for by Saudi Arabia. "The main topic is the implementation of UN resolutions, which are mainly related to the end of the Israeli occupation and the realization of a two-state solution based on the relevant international legal framework," the Palestinian minister said in a conversation with Izvestia. - The conference will pursue this goal.
If the US and Israel participate in it, and influential countries are able to hold it despite the challenges, it will open the way for peace in the region, as it cannot be achieved without solutions to the Palestinian problem, Ahmed Majdaliani said. Arab countries should not go for normalization with Israel without ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state, he said.
However, the prospects for the conference remain uncertain. One of the key challenges will be the involvement of Israel and the US. If they manage to reach a compromise with Arab countries and international players, it could be an important step towards resolving the conflict. However, the lack of a unified position and the ongoing fighting in the Palestinian territories pose significant obstacles to a diplomatic solution.
- "Escalation is indeed continuing: the IDF's actions in the West Bank, aimed, according to Tel Aviv's statements, at countering 'agents of Iran and Hamas,' are more deeply dividing Palestinian factions, most of which have not approved the plan for Operation Iron Wall," noted orientalist Leonid Tsukanov in a conversation with Izvestia.
Despite the fact that the Hamas-affiliated Jenin Brigade is suffering losses and losing supporters, its combat effectiveness is still assessed as high, the expert added.
- Moreover, some West Bank residents have become more sympathetic to Hamas than to the government in Ramallah since the start of the Israeli operation," said Leonid Tsukanov.
Israel may resume hostilities after the truce in Gaza
In this regard, it is worth recalling that Israel reserves the right to resume hostilities in the Palestinian territories after the completion of the hostage return process as part of the deal with Hamas.
The Times of Israel, citing an Israeli official, reported: Netanyahu believes he will have more flexibility under Trump to resume the war after the first phase of the deal.
- Should Israel decide to launch offensives in the enclave again, it would trigger a surge in violence in both the West Bank and Gaza, Leonid Tsukanov notes.
The Israeli prime minister is already facing domestic pressure. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has tendered his resignation, and the Otzma Yehudit party, which he leads, has left Netanyahu's government coalition in protest against the Gaza truce.
Two other ministers from the right-wing party - Jerusalem and Israeli Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu and Negev, Galilee and National Sustainability Development Minister Yitzhak Wasserlaf - also resigned. So far, however, Netanyahu has managed to control a majority in the Knesset, despite Otzma Yehudit's withdrawal from the coalition.
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