Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post dug up a 1979 State Department memo that says that the Israeli settlements violate international law. The legal opinion has never been contradicted, says its author. Kessler got pushback from the Israelis:
Israeli Embassy spokesman Jonathan Peled said the opinion has been
overtaken by events. “There have been many developments in the region
since the 1970s, including a series of agreements that have stipulated
that the issue of settlements will be discussed and resolved in
permanent status negotiations with the Palestinians,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in a speech Sunday,
declared the West Bank to be “the land of our forefathers” but noted
that “within this homeland lives a large Palestinian community.”
They really do want one state. How long before American journalists stop talking about policy and legal opinions and look at the actual conditions of Palestinians’ lives under occupation? This is the real issue, the treatment of minorities by the “only democracy” in the Middle East.
