Final nail in the coffin of Palestinian-Israeli peace process
US move to legitimise colonies is latest in a series of political gifts to Netanyahu
A 1978 US State Department legal opinion held that colonies of the Israeli regime in the occupied West Bank were “inconsistent with international law”.
Not so, says the present US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Backtracking on four decades of US policy, the Trump administration declared on Monday that America does not consider the colonies in the West Bank a violation of international law.
Long before this statement from Pompeo, the US had ceased to be considered a neutral arbiter in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But with the latest announcement, Washington has taken out the last obstacle to annexation of more Palestinian territory by the Tel Aviv regime.
The White House move should also be seen in the context of domestic Israeli politics. It is the latest in a series of political gifts from the US to embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made annexation of the West Bank a poll promise — not once, but twice this year. This comes as Netanyahu’s chief opponent, Benny Gantz, struggles to form a government. He has until Wednesday, failing which, Gantz will have to give up his claim.
Long before this statement from Pompeo, the US had ceased to be considered a neutral arbiter in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But with the latest announcement, Washington has taken out the last obstacle to annexation of more Palestinian territory by the Tel Aviv regime.
For the Palestinians — and for all right-thinking people — the latest US move is shocking, and evokes deep distaste as it is part of a pattern. It sends a message that international law doesn’t matter anymore. On Palestine, Washington has no rules. The law of the jungle prevails: might is right.
It has been obvious for a long time that Jewish colonies in the Occupied Territories are illegal and have destroyed prospects of a two-state solution in which a Palestinian state would exist next to the State of Israel. Most countries see that as the only solution to the decades-old conflict. But Pompeo has said this US “legal review” creates the political space for a more likely resolution. How exactly, he didn’t mention.
America’s decision also delivers a new blow to its own “efforts” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through its so-called “Deal of the Century” that has been in the works for more than two years but has drawn widespread disdain and scepticism even before it has been presented to the public.
America has rewarded Israel for its theft of Palestinian land, and its seizure and exploitation of Palestinian natural resources. In the process, it has also legitimised the ever-expanding colony-building enterprise, at a time when the “peace process” is on its last legs.