17, November 2016 Israeli Settlements
Right-wing Israeli politicians eager to capitalize on Trump’s election gave preliminary approval to a bill that would retroactively legalize illegal settlements built in the West Bank. The bill was rushed through the Israeli parliament to forestall the demolition of an illegal outpost by 25 December.
Education Minister, Naftali Bennett, expressed his
disdain for international law boasting “the era of the Palestinian state is
over.”
Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman,
went even further urging his government to negotiate a deal with the Trump
administration to approve expanded construction in major West Bank settlements.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit, oppose
the bill warning that it violates international law. This development is a monumental
failure of successive US administrations who have failed to broker a peaceful
two-state settlement. Billions of US tax funds have been squandered rewarding
Israel for their bad behavior.
Senator Patrick Leahy, denounced Israel’s
blatant theft of Palestinian land stating,
“One of the most effective ways that ISIS and other
terrorist groups have attracted recruits is by tarring the United States with
Israel’s expanding occupation of the West Bank. This legislation to retroactively
legalize illegal settlements will be welcomed by those murderous groups as
further evidence that America’s closest ally in the region is bent on
destroying a peaceful solution, including the possibility of a Palestinian
state.”
Let us hope that President-Elect Trump will
use his deal making skills to broker a peaceful and equitable solution to the
festering Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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