While the world’s attention has been focused on Gaza, the overall situation on the West Bank has continued to deteriorate, with tensions high on all sides. President Trump has unequivocally rejected any efforts by Israel to formally annex the West Bank. This builds on stark warnings from America’s Gulf allies, including Abraham Accords signatory, the United Arab Emirates. These warnings have reiterated that formal annexation would cross a “red line.” Nevertheless, de facto annexation efforts, long-underway, have been accelerating in recent months, garnering little attention in Washington.
Join us for a webinar conversation with Dr. Tahani Mustafa, Ambassador (ret.) Yael Lempert, and Colonel (res.) Ron Shatzberg to unpack the potential consequences of West Bank annexation efforts – de jure and de facto.
Speaker Biographies
Dr. Tahani Mustafa
Visiting Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations
Amb. (ret.) Yael Lempert
Vice President for Outreach, Middle East Institute
Colonel (res.) Ron Shatzberg
Co-Executive Director, Economic Cooperation Foundation
Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen (Moderator)
Senior Fellow, Middle East Institute
Extended Speaker Biographies
Dr. Tahani Mustafa is a Visiting Fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Mustafa works on issues including security and socio-political and legal governance in the West Bank. Prior, she was Senior Palestine Analyst at the International Crisis Group.
Ambassador (ret.) Yael Lempert joined MEI as the Vice President for Outreach in September 2025. Previously, Ambassador Lempert served for over 27 years as an American diplomat, including as the US Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 2023 to 2025. Her other previous positions include Acting Assistant Secretary of State and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs from 2021 through 2023. She served in 2021 as the Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in London, and as the Deputy Chief of Mission for the two years prior. She was Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Egypt and North Africa from 2017 to 2018.
Colonel (res.) Ron Shatzberg is co-Executive Director of the Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF). In his current capacity he deals with regional security, border regime, Jerusalem, and cross-border cooperation strategies, as well as with Jordanian-Israeli relations. For 11 years Col. Shatzberg was an adviser for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Laws of Armed Conflict (LoAC) with respect to their relations with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Col. Shatzberg holds a B.A. in Journalism and Political Science, and an M.A. in Conflict Resolution, both from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen (Moderator) is a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute. Prior to joining MEI, she served at the U.S. Institute of Peace for 15 years where she directed its work on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. An expert in US diplomatic history in the Middle East, regional conflict dynamics, and civil society peacebuilding efforts, Lucy is a frequent presenter, author and facilitator in a variety of academic, policy, media and dialogue forums. She has worked with the Department of State as an Arabic translator and as a program officer for the Kennedy School of Government’s Middle East Initiative at Harvard University.
Violence, Settlements, and Creeping Annexation in the West Bank
