The End of Palestine

With Israel’s recent announcements to fully occupy the West Bank and annex northern Gaza, the two-state solution is effectively dead.

Trump’s election was clearly a signal to Israel that it had the greenlight to finally liquidate the last vestiges of Palestinian autonomy.

CNN: Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has ordered preparations for the annexation of settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Smotrich, who is in charge of the settlements, said on Monday that he had instructed his department to “prepare the necessary infrastructure for applying sovereignty.”

Intercept: some Israeli officials want to gain control of northern Gaza by starving or killing the remaining Palestinians living in the area, following a proposal known as the “General’s Plan.”

These moves signify the end of almost any remaining hope for a sovereign Palestinian state. Once Israel possesses these lands fully, it is highly unlikely they will ever relinquish them. Israel's occupation strategy in Palestinian territories has long been built on creating “facts on the ground”—realities that are difficult, if not impossible, to reverse. With Trump’s likely unqualified support, this time they have likely succeeded in erasing the prospect of Palestinian self-determination altogether.

During his first term, Trump set a precedent for unabashed support of Israeli policies that sidelined Palestinian aspirations. He formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, undermining decades of U.S. policy and sidelining Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem. His “Deal of the Century” was an illusion, not a road to peace but a permanent subjugation of Palestinians under a single-state Israeli regime. Now, with Trump back in office, Israel feels emboldened to carry out plans that eliminate even the hypothetical basis for a Palestinian state.

“Facts on the Ground” as Policy

The occupation of the West Bank and northern Gaza isn’t just a step toward “security” for Israel—it’s a statement of permanent territorial control that precludes any future Palestinian state. Northern Gaza will now become a buffer zone, creating even greater hardship for the two million Palestinians confined within the rest of Gaza and isolating them from any potential contact with the world outside. In the West Bank, the relentless expansion of settlements and now an unambiguous occupation lock Palestinians into fractured territories without political or economic viability. The last semblances of autonomy will be gone, and Palestinians will be left with scattered enclaves surrounded by an occupying force that denies them a unified national existence.

Without Trump’s support, Israel may have been forced to consider international diplomatic consequences. However, Trump’s administration, known for its unwavering support of Israel, represents a green light for expansionist policies with no meaningful restraint. Biden’s attempts at moderating these policies—while far from sufficient—at least held out hope for a less extreme approach. But Trump’s return has eliminated any space for moderation or negotiation. What remains is a political landscape in which Israel’s indefinite control is assumed, and any notion of Palestinian sovereignty is erased from the political agenda.

The Role of Palestinian Rights Activists in the 2024 Election

In a tragic irony, pro-Palestine activists who opposed Kamala Harris may have inadvertently contributed to this outcome. Many of these activists were deeply critical of the Democratic administration, arguing that it was insufficiently supportive of Palestinian rights. This frustration may have played a role in discouraging voter enthusiasm for Harris among the Democratic base. Activists like Jill Stein even campaigned explicitly to deny Kamala Harris the presidency, openly stating that her goal was to prevent Harris’s election. While these efforts were motivated by a desire for real change in U.S. policy toward Palestine, they may have had the unintended effect of propelling a far more hostile administration into power, one with no interest in Palestinian rights or statehood.

The tragedy here is profound. In their pursuit of justice for Palestine, these activists may have indirectly handed Trump a second term, bolstering Israel’s hand in the permanent occupation of Palestinian lands. Rather than paving the way for meaningful reform in U.S. policy, this election result has cemented the opposite. With the full support of the Trump administration, Israel now has the confidence to impose the final nail in the coffin of the two-state solution.

The Deepening of Palestinian Suffering

This definitive occupation has dire consequences for Palestinians already enduring immense hardship. In Gaza, the new occupation zone will add to an environment of relentless suffering. Over 2 million Palestinians are confined within a small, densely populated strip of land, with basic infrastructure crumbling under a 17-year blockade. Clean water, electricity, and healthcare are in perpetual crisis, and the recent bombings during the war on Gaza have decimated what little infrastructure remained. The expansion of Israeli control into northern Gaza means that even the minimal hope of a future Palestinian state is gone.

The situation in the West Bank is equally grim. Palestinians here are already living under occupation, with constant military incursions, home demolitions, and harassment from settlers. Checkpoints and surveillance dominate daily life, creating an environment where movement and economic opportunity are severely restricted. With this latest move, Israel’s intent is clear: to fragment Palestinian communities beyond repair, leaving them isolated, impoverished, and stripped of any political power.

The economic toll on Palestinians is devastating. Youth unemployment rates in both Gaza and the West Bank are among the highest globally, with even the most educated youth finding themselves without opportunities or futures. These conditions are by design, creating an economic stranglehold on Palestinian society that effectively precludes any chance for self-sufficiency, let alone sovereignty.

This occupation isn’t just a political strategy; it’s an erasure of Palestinian identity. National aspirations that once fueled the Palestinian people have been reduced to historical memories, receding further into the past with each expansion of Israeli control. For Palestinians, the concept of an independent state has become a relic, a symbol of what could have been but now is largely lost.

Conclusion: The Need to Eject Toxic Bad Actors

With Trump likely backing every move by Israel, it is unclear if any movement now can stop the final extermination of hopes for Palestinian statehood. What is clear is the completely toxic role of groups like the Party of Socialism and Liberation and its front groups like ANSWER and various allied group which never cared much about Palestine istelf but only saw it as one more tool to divide the progressive movement and chip off people to join their sectarian cult memberships. From day one of the war on Gaza, every action they took seemed designed to alienate most of the public from the Palestinian cause.

The sad result was that by election day 61% of voters said US support for Israel was just right or not supportive enough. Only 31% thought the US was giving Israel too much support.

If any movement can salvage any hope for Palestinian independence, the first step will be ejecting groups like PSL and ANSWER from anywhere near the cause. Their clear failure, even in the face of mass murder and war crimes in Gaza, to convince the American people to oppose continued support for Israel shows that their tactics are inherently a recipe for destruction of the causes that their toxic rhetoric and tactics touch.

To build a movement that can at least defend Palestinians from ongoing war crime - even if statehood is likely to be off the table- advocates must reject the narrow, sectarian strategies that have stifled progress. Instead of sectarians chanting solidarity with Hamas and acting like vandalism is a substitute for real organizing, we need a movement that can build trust with the American public with a clear, humane vision of justice that can challenge entrenched U.S. support for the Israeli occupation—and perhaps, maybe one day revive the dream of a Palestinian state.