The new politics of permanent occupation
Six years back, India’s revocation of Article 370 to end the semi-autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir echoed Israel’s decades-long settler colonialism in the West Bank. Six years later, the Israeli Knesset has passed the initial bill allowing imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, reigniting the debate surrounding the new politics of permanent occupation. Through territorial re-engineering, both Israel and India are pushing forward their fascist nationalist ideologies grounded in fabricated religious promises.
While the goals and tools of occupation remain the same, the strategy appears to have some differences. Granting Kashmir semi-autonomous status in 1954 was simply a move to suppress the voices of self-determination. Under Article 370, all significant areas, including defence, communications, finance, and foreign affairs have been under Indian control. Article 370 only allowed Kashmir some degree of self-governance, which, too, has been characterised by puppet regimes. In 2019, India eventually revoked Article 370 to extend Indian governance to IIOJK, allow non-Kashmiris to own property in the region, exploit its resources, and shift from temporary to permanent military occupation. Israel, on the other hand, has been illegally occupying Palestinian land for years and building settlements, has a sustained military presence, and now seeks constitutional moves to legalise its occupation.
In both cases, the world passively watches. The parliamentary vote took place while the US Vice President JD Vance was in Israel for the implementation of the peace plan. It speaks volumes about how much weight Israel’s far-right groups actually give to American involvement. Interestingly, however, PM Netanyahu and his Likud party have opposed the bill in the Israeli media. To many, this appears as Israel’s commitment to President Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan, but the world must not be fooled by this political stunt. Annexation of the West Bank was the highlight of Netanyahu’s election campaign back in the day to garner support of the far-right groups and totally aligns with the Greater Israel agenda. The current opposition to the idea of West Bank annexation is nothing more than a show of Netanyahu-Trump bromance, a move to protect a long-standing alliance with the US.
From what history shows, Israel has continued to build its settlements in the West Bank since its military occupation in 1967. Currently, around half a million Israelis are living in these illegal settlements. The Zionists, just like Hindutva believers, see it as their religious right to reclaim Palestinian territories. It is only a matter of time before the West Bank annexation becomes the official policy of the Israeli government. Just like the ceasefire, despite which Israel continues to carry out air strikes in Gaza, the rhetoric opposing West Bank annexation is merely political cover to smooth things out for the future.
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In both the West Bank and Kashmir, the constitution acts as a weapon to institutionalise occupation, manipulate demography, and eliminate indigenous identity and sovereignty. In stark contrast to international law, India and Israel have rigorously enforced mass displacements and land dispossessions under the guise of administrative reforms. The anarchic international system has nevertheless facilitated these malicious agendas with no system of accountability in place. Israel, under the shadow of US veto power, continues to expand its settler colonialism. India, on the other hand, leverages its increasing economic and geopolitical weight to shut external condemnation.
In addition to that, both India and Israel have continued to support each other’s actions not only through verbal affirmations but also through votes at the UN and other international forums. Arms trade between the two is also staggeringly high, as evident from the use of Israeli drones by India in escalation against Pakistan over the Pahalgam incident. The Islamophobic element and terrorism excuse are also common between Zionism and Hindutva, and have set the foundation of Indo-Israel ideological alignment.
To confront this new politics of permanent occupation, greater media mobilisation is needed on the West Bank. A loud, unified response from the world can steer Israel away from its overt annexation plans. The Americans need to exert maximum pressure on the Trump administration to ensure that President Trump stands by his position of not allowing West Bank annexation.
Moreover, state actors, especially Muslim governments, must maintain a strong, collective posture at the international forums against the recent bill passed in the Knesset. Furthermore, in July 2024, while the International Court of Justice declaredIsraeli settlements in the West Bank illegal, there is a need to enhance the structural capacity of such international bodies to take swift legal actions, not just decisions.
All in all, the anti-two-state standpoint, ethnonationalism, and military occupation make up the ingredients of settler colonialism, adopted by India and Israel in letter and spirit. Only through greater mass opposition, international diplomatic interference, and the strengthening of international law and institutions can the world get rid of the evil of permanent military occupations.
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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.