ael and the Arab states, and whether or not the Gaza Strip is ever formally annexed, Israel will not relinquish control of the territory (Bar Illan, 1988).
The foregoing discussion indicates that the real question related to the annexation of territories seized by Israel in the Six Day War is not why it has not annexed all of the territories, but, rather why it has not annexed the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in view of the facts that it has declared that (1) the West Bank is an integral part of the State of Israel, and (2) Israel will never relinquish control over the Gaza Strip. In the remainder of this research, both the internal factors and the external factors which may explain Israel's decision to, thus far, not annex the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are examined.
Factors Internal and External Affecting
Israel's Decision, Thru 1990, Not To Annex the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
The internal factors affecting Israel's decision, thus far, not to annex the West Bank and the Gaza strip are quite likely more intractable than are the external factors involving the country's relations with neighboring Arab states. At the root of the Arab Israeli conflict in the is the issue of whose rights are being trampled on, or are being upheld in Palestine (Chacour, 1984). The Arab nations contend that the rights of the Arab residents, or former residents, of Palestine were trampled on by the creation of the State of Israel, and continue to be trampled on by Israeli repression of the country's Arab population. Israelis view the State of Israel as a vindication of Jewish rights; however, the Israelis are divided over the justification for their presence in Palestine. Secular Zionists justify the creation of the State of Israel as the only solution to the repression and other forms of anti Semitism suffered by Jews in other countries (Laqueur, 1976). For most secular Zionists, the creation of a Jewish state need not have occu...