What would have happened if, at some point following the 1967 Six Day War, a right-wing government in Israel had decided to extend Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank in the same way they had done to East Jerusalem & the Golan Heights?
What would the result have been?
The Israeli right-wing makes the case that Israel can annex the West Bank and still maintain a strong 66% Jewish majority (the West Bank Arabs would initially be getting permanent residency status with a path to citizenship like the Druze in the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem Arabs).
Even so I imagine the Arab political parties in Israel would gain more influence, it'd be interesting to see how this would effect future coalition governments.
The much poorer West Bank Arabs would also become eligible for welfare and social programs which would be interesting. I could see a left-wing alliance with Arab parties if Islamism doesn't take hold.
The left-wing argues that this would destroy the Jewish majority if not immediately then at some time in the future with higher Arab fertility rates. All this depends on the actual number of Arabs living in the West Bank and their fertility rates (I really don't know which to believe). If the left is true I could still imagine the majority of West Bank arabs refusing citizenship/not voting and the Jewish state surviving (or alternatively, they might be systematically refused citizenship).
I assume there would be allot more Jews living and working in the West Bank (And Muslims working and living in Israel proper).
The Gaza Strip would be left in an interesting predicament. If annexation was done after 2005 it's likely the post-withdrawal Hamas government would continue running the Strip as a de-facto independent state. Alternatively Egypt might annex it.
As far as human rights, no segregated settlements, no checkpoints, no military occupation etc. I could also see women's rights, religious rights and gay rights improving (compared to PA or Israeli military rule).
As far as the economy, I imagine there would be more economic development (whether it would be skewed in favor of Jews is open to debate).
While the Israelis might allow a greater degree of local autonomy, there would basically be no compromising for Palestinian resistance/terrorist groups if this was done. It would be either destroy Israel, create a binational state, or continue with this new status quo. The two-state solution would never be possible again.
What would the result have been?
The Israeli right-wing makes the case that Israel can annex the West Bank and still maintain a strong 66% Jewish majority (the West Bank Arabs would initially be getting permanent residency status with a path to citizenship like the Druze in the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem Arabs).
Even so I imagine the Arab political parties in Israel would gain more influence, it'd be interesting to see how this would effect future coalition governments.
The much poorer West Bank Arabs would also become eligible for welfare and social programs which would be interesting. I could see a left-wing alliance with Arab parties if Islamism doesn't take hold.
The left-wing argues that this would destroy the Jewish majority if not immediately then at some time in the future with higher Arab fertility rates. All this depends on the actual number of Arabs living in the West Bank and their fertility rates (I really don't know which to believe). If the left is true I could still imagine the majority of West Bank arabs refusing citizenship/not voting and the Jewish state surviving (or alternatively, they might be systematically refused citizenship).
I assume there would be allot more Jews living and working in the West Bank (And Muslims working and living in Israel proper).
The Gaza Strip would be left in an interesting predicament. If annexation was done after 2005 it's likely the post-withdrawal Hamas government would continue running the Strip as a de-facto independent state. Alternatively Egypt might annex it.
As far as human rights, no segregated settlements, no checkpoints, no military occupation etc. I could also see women's rights, religious rights and gay rights improving (compared to PA or Israeli military rule).
As far as the economy, I imagine there would be more economic development (whether it would be skewed in favor of Jews is open to debate).
While the Israelis might allow a greater degree of local autonomy, there would basically be no compromising for Palestinian resistance/terrorist groups if this was done. It would be either destroy Israel, create a binational state, or continue with this new status quo. The two-state solution would never be possible again.