The new Israeli government on Wednesday approved moved plans to build 3000 more units in illegal West Bank settlements; and the State Department issued its strongest opposition to the plans since Joe Biden took office, calling the plans “unacceptable.”
The State Department spokesperson said Tuesday that the U.S. “strongly” opposes the expansion of settlements. Said Arikat of Al Quds Daily said that U.S. lack of resolve appears to have emboldened Israel, and Ned Price responded:
We are deeply concerned about the Israeli Government’s plan to advance thousands of settlement units tomorrow, Wednesday, many of them deep in the West Bank.
In addition, we’re concerned about the publication of tenders on Sunday for 1,300 settlement units in a number of West Bank settlements. We strongly oppose the expansion of settlements, which is completely inconsistent with efforts to lower tensions and to ensure calm, and it damages the prospects for a two-state solution…
We also view plans for the retroactive legalization of illegal outposts as unacceptable. We continue to raise our views on this issue directly with senior Israeli officials in our private discussions. We are engaging with our Israeli partners at very senior levels conveying this message.
Axios is reporting that the Secretary of State called the Israeli Defense Minister yesterday and used the “unacceptable” language.
The U.S. pressure escalated on Tuesday when [Antony] Blinken called [Benny] Gantz and told him that both the number of housing units and their locations deep inside the West Bank were “unacceptable,” according to the Israeli officials.
Biden is said to have pressured Israel on settlements during Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s visit to the White House in August. From the readout at the time:
[Biden] also noted the importance of refraining from actions that could exacerbate tensions, contribute to a sense of unfairness, and undermine efforts to build trust.
The news in September was that Israel was pausing settlements in response. But this week Israel is back in business.
Prime Minister Bennett comes from a far-rightwing party that opposes a Palestinian state and backs the settlers. His government coalition includes several rightwing parties, and the Israeli government under a constitutional law holds that Jews have the “exclusive” right of “self-determination” in all the land between river and sea.
Associated Press reporter Matt Lee said yesterday at the State Department that the statement was “the strongest” the Biden administration has made. “Was there a decision made that you had to start getting tougher on this?”
Price said, “It only stands to reason that our public messaging may shift over time.”
Axios reported yesterday that Michael Ratney, the American charge d’affaires in Jerusalem, had a “difficult” call with Bennett’s foreign policy advisor Shimrit Meir over the settlements.
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“‘I am Israel. You Palestinians want to negotiate ‘peace!?’ But you are not as smart as me; I will negotiate, but will only let you have your municipalities while I control your borders, your water, your airspace and anything else of importance. While we ‘negotiate,’ I will swallow your hilltops and fill them with settlements, populated by the most extremist of my extremists, armed to the teeth. These settlements will be connected with roads you cannot use, and you will be imprisoned in your little Bantustans between them, surrounded by checkpoints in every direction.
“‘I am Israel. I have the fourth strongest army in the world, possessing nuclear weapons. How dare your children confront my oppression with stones, don’t you know my soldiers won’t hesitate to blow their heads off? In 17 months, I have killed 900 of you and injured 17,000, mostly civilians, and have the mandate to continue since the international community remains silent. Ignore, as I do, the hundreds of Israeli reserve officers who are now refusing to carry out my control over your lands and people; their voices of conscience will not protect you.
“‘I am Israel. You want freedom? I have bullets, tanks, missiles, Apaches and F-16s to obliterate you. I have placed your towns under siege, confiscated your lands, uprooted your trees, demolished your homes, and you still demand freedom? Don’t you get the message? You will never have peace or freedom, because I am Israel.'”
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https://zeenitbhyat.tumblr.com/post/660416231422181376/i-am-israel-i-came-to-a-land-without-a-people
By Professor Norman Finkelstein:
“‘I am Israel. I came to a land without a people for a people without a land. Those people who happened to be here, had no right to be here, and my people showed them they had to leave or die, razing 400 Palestinian villages to the ground, erasing their history.
“‘I am Israel. Some of my people committed massacres and later became Prime Ministers to represent me. In 1948, Menachem Begin was in charge of the unit that slaughtered the inhabitants of Deir Yassin, including 100 women and children. In 1953, Ariel Sharon led the slaughter of the inhabitants of Qibya, and in 1982 arranged for our allies to butcher around 2,000 in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila.
“‘I am Israel. Carved in 1948 out of 78% of the land of Palestine, dispossessing its inhabitants and replacing them with Jews from Europe and other parts of the world. While the natives whose families lived on this land for thousands of years are not allowed to return, Jews from all over the world are welcome to instant citizenship.
“‘I am Israel. In 1967, I swallowed the remaining lands of Palestine – East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza – and placed their inhabitants under an oppressive military rule, controlling and humiliating every aspect of their daily lives. Eventually, they should get the message that they are not welcome to stay, and join the millions of Palestinian refugees in the shanty camps of Lebanon and Jordan.
“‘I am Israel. I have the power to control American policy. My American Israel Public Affairs Committee can make or break any American politician of its choosing, and as you see, they all compete to please me. All the forces of the world are powerless against me, including the UN as I have the American veto to block any condemnation of my war crimes. As Sharon so eloquently phrased it, ‘We control America’.
“‘I am Israel. I influence American mainstream media too, and you will always find the news tailored to my favor. I have invested millions of dollars into PR representation, and CNN, New York Times, and others have been doing an excellent job of promoting my propaganda. Look at other international news sources and you will see the difference.” (cont’d)
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“Unacceptable” is US State Department code for “We’ve already accepted it, so please stop asking us about it for another 5 to 10 days, so that we can all pretend that nothing happened.”
There have NEVER been any real consequences for this behaviors and it all follows about the most comically predictable loop imaginable. Israel works behind the scenes to extort a major concession, pay check, diplomatic win, veto at the UNSC, economic “gift”, or some other cherry on the cake from the US and within weeks of the ink drying or check clearing, they go ahead pull this kind of shit and kick whatever administration right in the teeth and leave them with egg on their face. They then wait out the weakest and most toothless of political and media pushback and immediately start making inroads on the next big thing. Maybe a new delivery of F-35s, or Black Hawks, or cruise missiles, tax-free trade agreements, some illegal anti-BDS legislation or… did someone say the US is now considering including them in the Visa Waiver Program they’ve been trying to get on for decades?
It seems to me this recent Mondoweiss article may be relevant.
“As mob of Jewish supremacists unleash ‘pogrom’ against Palestinians in Jerusalem– AIPAC crows about 331 Congress members standing by Israel”
https://mondoweiss.mystagingwebsite.com/2021/04/as-mob-of-jewish-supremacists-unleash-pogrom-against-palestinians-in-jerusalem-aipac-crows-about-331-congress-members-standing-by-israel/
3000 new housing units in the West Bank are ‘unacceptable’. What IS acceptable is any amount of settlement expansion – or, for that matter, any abusive behavior against Palestinians – that flies under the radar, i.e. doesn’t arouse the international community in a way that deters Biden from dealing with the myriad of issues burdening him as he struggles to get a deeply divided country back on its feet. Biden will be constantly challenged by the Zionist entity trying to see how far it can push him to accept – or, at least, ignore – its agenda of completing it mission to ethnically cleanse ‘Judea and Samaria’ (i.e. the West Bank) of Palestinians and secure all of the remaining land for its Jewish-privileged state.
Nothing really new to report here. It’s the same old dance, just with different ‘partners’.