Israeli Settlements: Unjustified and an Obstacle to Peace | Free Inquiry (original) (raw)

It has now been over a year since Hamas launched its terror attack on Israel, and this past year has seen a relentless, devastating campaign by Israel into Gaza, now recently combined with powerful attacks into Lebanon. Much criticism has been leveled against Israel during this time, with accusations ranging from the claim that its use of force is disproportionate to the claim that its military is intentionally targeting civilians. And, of course, there is now a segment of opinion in the United States and European countries that even questions Israel’s right to exist.

I am not going to criticize Israel or its policies on any of the aforementioned grounds. The United Nations established the nation of Israel in 1948. That should be the end of the matter on whether Israel has a right to exist. Like any nation, Israel has a right to defend itself, so Israel had a right to respond to the Hamas attack, as well the constant barrage of missiles from Hezbollah in Lebanon. Has Israel’s use of force been disproportionate? Don’t know. To answer that question with any authority, I would need access to intelligence and military information that is unavailable to me, as it is to Israel’s critics. Yes, thousands of civilians have been killed, but this is largely a function of how Hamas has embedded itself in Gaza’s infrastructure, including a tunnel system unrivaled in its complexity. Israel has usually warned civilians before it targets certain areas, not something always done in wartime. No warning was given to the inhabitants of Dresden, Tokyo, or Hiroshima. Closer in time, President Barack Obama’s drone war against suspected terrorists killed hundreds of civilians, despite what I believe was a good faith effort to make these attacks as “surgical” as possible.

No, I want to criticize Israel over a policy that has received scant attention recently even though it probably presents the greatest obstacle to lasting peace: namely, Israel’s continuing, creeping, acquisition of territory in the West Bank through settlements. The Israeli policy of confiscating land for settlements began shortly after its victory in the 1967 Six-Day War. At first, Israel disguised the fact that it was acquiring land for settlements by maintaining that the confiscated land was needed solely for military purposes. Subsequently, successive Israeli governments did not conceal their plans to build settlements in the West Bank. Although settlements were paused in the early 2000s and four settlements were evacuated, in recent years new settlements have been authorized. Moreover, in addition to government sponsored settlements, unauthorized outposts are built without prior government approval, usually by ultra-Orthodox Jews who feel they are entitled to the land because a supernatural being gave it to them. Often, once in place, these settlements are retroactively legalized by the government. Estimates indicate there are now about 150 authorized settlements in the West Bank housing 450,000 Israelis and dozens of (as of yet) unauthorized ones. All these settlements are illegal under international law, a conclusion, interestingly enough, that has been endorsed on occasion by the Supreme Court of Israel.

To make matters worse, not only are these settlements occupying land that should belong to the Palestinians, but some settlers have engaged in repeated acts of violence against the Palestinians in their vicinity. Israeli soldiers and police often turn a blind eye to these acts of violence.

One rationale sometimes offered for these settlements is that they are necessary for Israel’s security. But this explanation is not consistent with the extent of the settlements. Moreover, various political parties in Israel have openly proclaimed their desire to see all or most of the West Bank annexed to Israel.

There are only two possible paths forward for Israel in the long term. Either Israel achieves a peace with the Palestinians that allows the Palestinians their own state in the West Bank (and what remains of Gaza), or Israel will attempt to keep the Palestinians in the West Bank under perpetual occupation, turning them into helots. Continuation of Israeli settlements in the West Bank threatens to make the first alternative unachievable. The latter alternative will undercut the legitimacy of the Israeli nation.

Ronald A. Lindsay

Ronald A. Lindsay is the former president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, recent interim general counsel for CFI, and editor of Free Inquiry magazine.