Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 12/20 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 16.-30. Juni Die Themen dieser Ausgabe 1. Wachsende internationale Kritik an Israels Annexionsplänen.................................................................................... 1 2. Black lives matter – Diskurs auf Hebräisch.................................................................................................................. 3 3. Weiterer Anstieg der Corona-Neuinfektionen............................................................................................................... 4 4. Medienquerschnitt........................................................................................................................................................... 6 1. Wachsende internationale Kritik an Israels Annexionsplänen Die Regierung unter Benjamin Netanyahu hat die ab dem 1. Juli gemäß dem Koalitionsabkommen mögliche Annexion von Teilen des besetzten Westjordanlandes aufgeschoben. Mit ausschlaggebend für diese Entscheidung dürfte die heftige Kritik aus der arabischen Welt und von EU­Staaten sein. Jordanien und der Libanon warnten ihren Nachbarn Israel vor dem unilateralen Schritt. Auch der Deutsche Bundestag rief die israelische Regierung dazu auf, von der Annexion palästinensischer Gebiete abzusehen, die"im Widerspruch zu internationalem Recht" stehe, wie es in einem gemeinsamen Antrag der Regierungsparteien heißt. Bundesaußenminister Heiko Maas(SPD) warnte in der Debatte, das israelische Vorhaben bedrohe die Stabilität der gesamten Nahost-Region:"Frieden lässt sich nicht durch einseitige Schritte erreichen." Maas war erst vor wenigen Wochen trotz Corona persönlich nach Jerusalem gereist, um den Standpunkt der deutschen Regierung der israelischen Regierung persönlich zu übermitteln. Is annexation really good for the Jews? When Benjamin Netanyahu first ran for prime minis­ter in 1996, his campaign slogan was"Netanyahu is good for the Jews." Now, as he is set to embark on his unilateral annexation of parts of the West Bank, it seems an opportune moment to put the same slogan to the test in order assess the costs and benefits of this plan. Is unilateral wide annexation good for the Jews? From my home in the settlement of Kfar Adumim, I can see the Judean Desert all the way to the Dead Sea and the road from Jerusalem to Jericho; I have a clear view of the area that sepa­rates between the Arab states east of the Jordan River and Jerusalem and Israel in the west. I live on the cusp of Wadi Qelt as it traverses the West Bank, separating Judea to the south from Samaria to the north. Indeed, Israeli limited annexation would somewhat diminish the risk that a Palestinian state, if established, could pose a security threat to Israel. However, the benefit from annexation is limited. On the one hand, Israel has had control of this land for more than 53 years without having annexed any of it. On the other hand, a one-sided move is no guar­antee that future land negotiations will not include this part of the West Bank as well.( …) Israel's im­proving relations with Arab nations( …) could take a turn for the worse. The added potential benefit by annexing our already existing Jordan Valley security strip is not worth risking our relations with Jordan which serve as our much more significant security buffer.( …) And what of the impact of unilateral an­nexation on Israel's standing in the rest of the world?( …) Wouldn’t it be advisable to listen as well to voices from Europe, the market for one third of Israel’s exports, an d to warnings of German Chan­cellor Angela Merkel, the head of the only country that has sold Israel its much-needed submarines? 1