Israel 'Legalizes' 19 More Settlements After Calling Truce
While global leaders call for a fragile truce, Israel's cabinet quietly moves to consolidate control over Palestinian land, retroactively 'legalizing' 19 West Bank settlements. The article notes two of these were supposedly vacated 20 years ago. This isn't a new strategy; former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in 2004 that disengaging from Gaza would 'strengthen our control' over the West Bank.
The pattern is clear: a performative 'pullout' here, followed by an expansion there. International law considers these settlements illegal, a fact conveniently omitted from much mainstream discourse. How many times must the international community condemn such actions before it realizes a stern finger-wag is merely background music to ongoing annexation?