Let's start at the end: Palestinians have come to terms with the fact that annexing the Jordan Valley and large settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria will happen in the next few months in full or in stages, with the full backing and support of the Trump administration.
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The comments made by US Ambassador David Friedman in an interview to Ariel Kahane in Israel Hayom demonstrates how excited the administration in Washington is to execute the annexation plan, despite the threats and doomsday prophecies of the Palestinian leadership and their supporters around the world and in Israel.
In order to understand the Palestinians' stance towards annexation one must pay attention to the rhetoric coming from the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who declared in a speech to the Fatah leadership a few days ago that "if Israel annexes the Jordan Valley or parts of it, we will consider withdrawing from all agreements signed with Israel and the administration in Washington."
It is no coincidence that Abbas chose to use phrasing that is non-committal and fairly calm, not even temporarily warning that he will halt the security coordination between the PA security apparatuses and the Israeli security forces.
Ironically it is the coronavirus crisis that made it clear to Abbas and Palestinian leaders how much the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the Palestinian issue especially, has been pushed to the bottom of the list of priorities of the international community and of Arab leaders, who are fearful of their regime stability due to the global economic crisis the virus has caused.
Abbas, along with the Hamas leaders in Gaza, see the bubbling protest in Lebanon and the rage towards Hezbollah and understand that the widespread incitement in social media against Israel, warmly adopted by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh, will not blur the fact that it is Israel who is helping Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and even in Gaza to fight the coronavirus and the economic crisis it has brought with it, and not the leaders of Arab countries who have their own problems at home.
Among Palestinian leaders, there are quite a few critical voices as well, albeit cautious and still not spoken out loud, towards Abbas and the generation of leaders who came from Tunis with Yasser Arafat after the Oslo Accords, as those who have completely failed over the years and have made all the strategic and tactical mistakes possible – like boycotting the Trump administration – which have only hurt national interests and the vision for an independent Palestinian state.
The Palestinian public and its leadership understand that extending sovereignty has already begun with the formation of a unity government in Israel, and as long as President Trump is in the White House – extending sovereignty is unavoidable.
The hope that remains for Abbas and the leadership in Ramallah is the defeat of Trump in the November election, and the rise of Joe Biden and the Democratic party to power and the prospect that the American stance towards Israel will be less lenient.
However, quite a few senior Palestinian officials stress that even if Biden beats Trump in the presidential elections, he won't be the one to open doors for Abbas in Washington since they believe Biden is an enthusiastic supporter of Israel and Zionism, no less so than President Trump and the current administration.
