Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has announced that the Israeli government is seizing nearly 1,000 acres of West Bank land for another massive settlement project. The Israeli group Peace Now has called it the largest land grab in 30 years.
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said [1] that the U.S. is “deeply concerned” about the announcement and called on Israel to reverse the decision. But when asked what consequences Israel would face if it didn’t reverse the decision, Psaki had no answer.
We’ve been here before. Whenever Israel announces new settlement expansion, the U.S. issues a statement of mild condemnation backed by little substantive action. And while it is the consensus of the international community that Israeli settlements are illegal, the U.S. continues to refer to them instead as “illegitimate” and “unhelpful”.
The “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobby J Street issued a statement [2] saying that it’s time for the U.S. government to “stop issuing toothless statements of regret and do something real” and to “make it clear that the U.S. opposition to settlements is not just symbolic.” We agree.
Thank you for all you do to help push U.S. foreign policy to be more just,
Robert Naiman and Megan Iorio
Just Foreign Policy
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References:
1. “On Israeli land grab, State Dept calls for reversal but lays out no consequences,” Megan Iorio, Just Foreign Policy, September 3, 2014, https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/node/1557
2. “J Street Condemns New Settlement Announcement, Urges Firmer US Action,” J Street, September 3, 2014, http://jstreet.org/blog/post/j-street-condemns-new-settlement-announcement-urges-firmer-us-action_1