DESPITE DECEMBER’S UN security council resolution 2334 (2016), the current government of Israel still defies the international community and approves massive building plans cross the West Bank in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT).
The international community realises that this government is an obstacle for a negotiated peace compromise by imposing more challenges by building more settlements in the OPT, including East Jerusalem. The member states of the UN security council approved the resolution after they fully believed that the current government of Israel had no interest in ending the occupation of the Territories that began in 1967. The resolution comes to reaffirm that there is still a room for a two states solution — Israel and Palestine in the Middle East. It also affirms that it would not recognize any changes made by the Israeli on the ground. It demanded that Israel immediately and completely ceases all settlement activities in the 4 June 1967 lines, including Jerusalem.
Massive plans of illegal settlements
Netanyahu’s government still believes it is above the international law because the Resolution 2334has no effective power to enforce Israel to stop its illegal activities of building more settlements. In other words, the resolution has no a clear mechanism to follow up or report to the council or propose imposing any sentences on Israel. Netanyahu’s government is already composed of an alliance of political parties engaging and supporting the settlements policy. The settlers are main supporters for this government and some ministers live in settlements of the West Bank. More than 600,000 Israeli settlers have controlled the West Bank over the years and are given significant subsidies to move to the settlements. In other words, if this government concedes its main policy of expansion of settlements, it will collapse from within. Just a few hours after the swearing of U.S. president, Donald Trump, Netanyahu’s government approved 2,500 new housing units for Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
Read the full article by Ibrahim Natil at Independent Australia.