30, December
2016
Israeli Settlements
Secretary of State John Kerry was right in
excoriating Israel for its settlement policy - its ongoing theft of more and
more Palestinian land to house Jewish only citizens. But what is puzzling
is why Kerry/Obama waited so long in voicing their criticism. Even more
puzzling is why prior US administrations rewarded Israel with billions of
dollars of aid for its bad behavior – allowing its settlement expansion and
denying Palestinians basic human rights. It is apparent that Netanyahu, the
most reviled head of state for decades, will never advance a two-state solution
which risks his leadership of Israel’s right-wing coalition or leads him on a
collision course with Jewish settlers who continue to penetrate deeper and
deeper into the West Bank.
Kerry was right when he stated that the
settlers’ goal is very clear, “strategically place settlements in locations that
make two states impossible, so that Israel will eventually annex all of the
West Bank”.
A single state, under
current conditions, would also condemn millions of Palestinians to live
permanently in segregated enclaves in the middle of the West Bank, under a
permanent military occupation, much like apartheid South Africa.
Unconditional US
support has emboldened Israel to continue its suffocating military occupation.
This support is an act of monumental betrayal. As Tom Friedman wrote in The
New York Times, “you don’t supply a driver with more alcohol, you
don’t let him drive drunk. And Obama let Israel drive drunk”.
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