US 'Dismisses' Annexation, Prepares Next Aid Package
The US State Department has offered its traditional mild consternation regarding Israel's preliminary legislative steps towards annexing the occupied West Bank. This vocal 'concern' is an established diplomatic dance, performed as diligently as funding transfers. While Washington issues polite chiding, the actual annexation of land by settlement expansion has been a continuous policy for decades,
with US administrations consistently approving billions in military aid. In 2023 alone, the US House passed the 'Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act' (H.R. 815) providing $14.3 billion in assistance, despite ongoing settlement expansion and violence in the West Bank. This suggests a pattern of rhetorical condemnation followed by material endorsement, a classic Washington two-step. One
might wonder at the utility of 'dismissals' that never seem to alter policy, only the optics. How many times can a global superpower 'dismiss' blatant violations of international law before it becomes an accomplice? It appears the US considers 'dismissal' a necessary administrative step before approving the next weapons shipment. For instance, the US recently abstained from a UN Security Council
vote demanding a Gaza ceasefire, then immediately expedited munitions delivery. Talk about mixed signals – unless the message is: we don't care.