This partly reflected fears that the Trump administration’s promised “ultimate deal” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may include neither element. US envoy and principal author Jason Greenblatt said on September 13 that work on the secret plan had entered the “pre-launch phase”, despite Palestinian opposition.
Unilateral Israeli annexation of large parts of the West Bank is becoming increasingly plausible as right-wing discourse changes.
Tel Aviv will resist a return to Palestinian Authority control in Gaza, with many politicians preferring the existing split with Hamas.
Despite half-promises to Trump, Saudi Arabia cannot afford to abandon the Palestinian cause.
Russia may partly move into the abandoned US mediation role but lacks the commitment and leverage to force a solution.
