By Ramzy Baroud
November 04, 2021:
Informationclearinghouse.info
- The international uproar in response to
Israel’s approval of a massive expansion of its
illegal settlement enterprise in the occupied
Palestinian West Bank may give the impression that
such a reaction could, in theory, force Israel to
abandon its plans. Alas, it will not, because the
statements of ‘concern,’ ‘regrets’, ‘disappointment’
and even outright condemnation are rarely followed
by meaningful action.
True, the international community has a
political, and even legal, frame of reference
regarding its position on the Israeli occupation of
Palestine. Unfortunately, however, it has no genuine
political mandate, or the inclination to act
individually or collectively, to bring this
occupation to an end.
This is precisely why the
announcement on October 27 by Israel that it has
given a ‘final approval’ for the building of 1,800
housing units and initial approval for another 1,344
will unlikely be reversed anytime soon. One ought to
keep in mind that this decision came only two days
after an
earlier announcement that the Israeli government
had advanced construction tenders for 1,355 housing
units in the occupied West Bank.
Israel has rarely, if ever, reversed such
decisions since its establishment on the ruins of
historic Palestine. Moreover, since Israel’s
occupation of Palestinian East Jerusalem, the West
Bank and Gaza in 1967, Israel’s
colonial project has remained in constant and
unhindered expansion. 54 years should have been
enough for the international community to realize
that Israel has no intentions whatsoever to end its
military occupation on its own accord, to respect
international law and to cease construction of its
illegal settlements.
Yet, despite this obvious fact, the international
community continues to issue statements, moderate in
their language, at times, even angry at others, but
without ever taking a single action to punish
Israel.
A quick examination of the US government’s
reaction to the news of settlement expansion tells
of the lack of seriousness from Washington towards
Israel’s continued disregard of international law,
peace and security in the Middle East.
“We strongly oppose the expansion of
settlements,”
said US State Department spokesman, Ned Price,
adding that the Israeli decision is “completely
inconsistent with efforts to lower tension and
ensure calm.”
Since when was Israel concerned about ‘lowering
tensions’ and ‘ensuring calm’? If these were truly
important US demands and expectations, why then,
does the US keep
funneling billions of dollars a year in military
aid to Israel, knowing fully that such armaments
will be used to sustain the illegal Israeli
occupation of Palestine and other Arab lands?
If, for the sake of argument, we assume that
Washington is finally shifting its policies on
Israel and Palestine, how does it intend to pressure
Israel to cease settlement construction? Mr. Price
has the answer: The Biden Administration would
“raise our views on this issue directly with senior
Israeli officials in our private discussions”, he
said on October 26. “Raise our views”, as
opposed to demanding accountability, threatening
retaliation, or, God forbid, withholding funds.
While it is true that the US government is
Israel’s main western benefactor, Washington is not
the only hypocritical administration in this regard.
The Europeans are not fundamentally different,
despite the fact that their statements might be a
tad stronger in terms of language.
“Settlements are illegal under international law
and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement
of the two-state solution and a just, lasting and
comprehensive peace between the parties,”
read a statement issued by the office of EU
foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, on October 29.
The statement mirrors the exact sentiments and
language of numerous statements issued in the past,
ones that “strongly reject” the Israeli action, and
“urge” the Israeli government to “revoke” its recent
decisions for the sake of “sustainable peace”, and
so on. One may even muse to claim that the task of
preparing these statements must be the easiest of
all clerical work at the EU offices, as it is
largely a matter of a simple ‘cut and paste’.
Yet, again, when it comes to action, Brussels,
like Washington,
refrains from taking any. Worse, these entities
often bankroll the very action they protest, while
insisting that they are standing at the exact same
distance between Israelis and Palestinians,
assigning themselves such roles as “honest peace
brokers”, “peace mediators” and the like.
One should not be in the least surprised by
Israel’s recent announcement. In fact, we should
expect more settlement expansion and even the
construction of new settlements, because that is
what colonial Israel does best.
Within a matter of a few days, Israel has
announced its intentions to build, or start bids
for, nearly 4,500 settlement units. Compare this
number with the settlement expansion during Donald
Trump’s term in office. “Israel promoted plans for
more than 30,000 settler homes in the West Bank
during the four years (Trump) was in power,” the BBC
reported, citing an Israeli group, Peace Now, as
saying in its recent
findings.
Those figures in mind, if the Israeli government
under Naftali Bennett continues with this hurried
pace of illegal housing construction, it could
potentially match – and even overtake – the
expansion that took place during the terrible years
of the Trump era. With no accountability, this
catastrophic political paradigm will remain in
place, irrespective of who rules Israel and who
resides in the White House.
Israel is doing what any colonial power does. It
expands at the expense of the native population. The
onus is not on colonial powers to behave themselves,
but on the rest of the world to hold them
accountable. This was true in the case of the
South African Apartheid and numerous other
examples throughout the Global South. It is equally
true in the case of Israeli Apartheid in Palestine.
The truth is that a thousand or a million more
statements by western governments will not end the
Israeli occupation, or even slow down the pace of
Israeli military bulldozers as they
uproot Palestinian trees,
destroy homes and construct yet more illegal
colonies. If words are not backed by action – which
is very much possible, considering the massive
military, political and economic leverage the West
wields over Israel – then the West remains a party
in this conflict, not as a ‘peace broker’, but as a
direct supporter of the Israeli occupation and
apartheid.
– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor
of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five
books. His latest is “These
Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian
Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons”
(Clarity Press). Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior
Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global
Affairs (CIGA) and also at the Afro-Middle East
Center (AMEC). His website is
www.ramzybaroud.net
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