According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reporting on 19 May 2020, as part of the Middle East peace plan
proposed by the USA in January 2020, the USA is prepared to recognize Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In an opinion article published in Haaretz on 6 May 2020, two Palestinian theologians have now
warned of an impending Israeli annexation of areas of the West Bank. In the article, Lutheran pastor, Munther Isaac, and Roman Catholic priest, Jamal Khader, are both convinced that this annexation will not lead to peace, but to further marginalization.
Michael Bosch, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "The authors of the Haartz article point out that the existence of Palestinian Christians seems to be completely forgotten in the proposed US peace plan. This "˜blindness" probably reflects the fact that many US Evangelicals are uncomfortable about the way many Palestinian Christians oppose the State of Israel. As it stands, the US peace proposals keep Jerusalem and Bethlehem separated and do not enable free movement for Palestinian Christians to visit biblical sites. It does offer some form of economic support for the creation of a Palestinian state, but there is little else to prevent the churches from being drained by Palestinian Christian youth seeking a better future abroad."
Michael Bosch continues: "With the COVID-19 pandemic as a worldwide major distraction - together with the upcoming US elections in November 2020 -, it is likely that the government under Netanyahu will now quietly go ahead with the annexation of the Israeli settlement areas. As many observers have noted (e.g.
Christianity Today, 28 January 2020), the US plan seems to have its main focus on the interests of the Jewish state and is not aiming for any real reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians."
