Nathan Thrall

Even Netanyahu's main rivals believe that any Palestinian entity that is established in the West Bank should be completely encircled by Israel, having no border with Jordan, the annexation plan shouldn't be dismissed as election bluster. If reelected, Netanyahu will be under tremendous pressure to implement it.

This upsurge is mostly all bad for Abbas, any change in confronting Israel is necessarily a weakening of Abbas and a strengthening of his Palestinian political opponents, both within Fatah and outside it.

Historically, diplomatic activity in this conflict has increased in response to violence, the U.S. is shifting from largely ignoring this conflict to sending the secretary of state to reinvest in dealing with it. That is something Abbas desires. But the risks that attend this upsurge are much greater for him than the potential benefits.