Stephen Lendman

The new policy replicates the existing one - unrestrained construction on stolen Palestinian land.

On the one hand, Israel said it’ll “significantly rein in the footprint” of settlement construction, limiting it “wherever possible” in new areas - a meaningless statement, intending unrestrained longstanding policy.

Netanyahu proved it by announcing Israel’s first new settlement since the 1993 Oslo Accords.

It’ll be located north of Ramallah - on Palestinian land registered as belonging to Israel. Security cabinet members approved it unanimously.

Full cabinet approval is needed to begin construction, a mere formality. Israeli hardliners consistently deny Palestinians their fundamental rights.

Trump officials voiced no opposition, one-sidedly supporting Israel. Continued settlement construction prevents any chance for diplomatic conflict resolution.

Palestinians know they have no friends in Washington, especially from Trump administration officials.

PLO secretary general Saeb Erekat’s weak-kneed objection shows how ill-served Palestinians are by their leadership, collaborating with Israel, not opposing its viciousness by meaningful actions.

PLO official Hanan Ashrawi issued a strong statement, unable to change things, saying “Israel is more committed to appeasing its illegal settler population than to abiding by the requirements for stability and a just peace.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is a US-installed imperial tool. In response to the Falk/Tilley UN report, calling Israel a racist apartheid regime, his spokesman denounced it ahead of removing it from the UN’s web site.

Washington didn’t approve his appointment to criticize Israeli, US or NATO policies, just to be a loyal imperial servant like his predecessors.

His spokesman expressed “disappointment and alarm” over Israel’s announced new settlement, no actions forthcoming from his office to oppose it, a short statement alone with no teeth, a meaningless gesture.

Peace Now said the strategically located new settlement aims to fragment the West Bank more than already, increasingly isolating Palestinians in unconnected cantons, hardening apartheid control.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at http://www.sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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