Israel weighs the future of the West Bank

FAR FROM being a show of strength, it smacked of desperation. On June 22nd thousands of Palestinians held a protest in Jericho against a possible Israeli annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank. They were joined, unusually, by diplomats from across the globe: Britain and Russia, Jordan and Japan. The United Nations envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, made a speech. After months of public warnings and quiet pressure, the world’s collective diplomatic clout perched on plastic chairs beneath the beating summer sun.On July 1st Israel’s cabinet can start to discuss annexation. The date is less a deadline than a starting-point laid down in the coalition agreement signed in April by Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, and his governing partners. Israel could decide to annex a large swathe of territory or annex nothing at all, or—as seems likely—do something betwixt the two.