The Echo Chamber of Condemnation and Complicity
The New Arab article highlights the current US administration's stated opposition to Israeli annexation efforts in the West Bank. This stance is not new; it represents a continuation of a diplomatic posture that has spanned multiple presidential administrations, often termed 'concern' or 'opposition' to unilateral actions. The critical element often omitted from mainstream analysis is the
consistent disjunction between stated policy and practical outcomes. First Instance: The 'Unsettlement' Policy Charade The pattern of rhetorical opposition combined with material enablement began, in earnest, with the 1967 occupation and subsequent establishment of Israeli settlements. While various UN resolutions, such as UN Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) , called for the inadmissibility
of acquiring territory by war, US aid to Israel surged. By the 1970s, the US was providing significant financial and military assistance, even as settlements proliferated. President Jimmy Carter notably called Israeli settlements 'illegal' in 1979, yet this diplomatic language did not lead to aid conditionality, a clear double standard when compared to US responses to other nations’ territorial
disputes (e.g., Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus). Repetitions: The Cycle of 'Concern' and Expansion 1980s: The Reagan administration condemned settlements as 'obstacles to peace' but increased economic and military aid to Israel, totaling approximately $3 billion annually by the mid-1980s (Congressional Research Service, 2023). This period saw continued settlement growth. 1990s: Post-Oslo