US-Israeli 'Peace Plan': Colonialism with a PR Spruce-Up
Al Jazeera's latest outlines the US-Israeli 'peace plan' for Gaza, noting its eerie resemblance to classic colonial fragmentation. This isn't new; Netanyahu previously pushed similar 'security zones' in 2002 and again in 2014, each time expanding control while shrinking Palestinian livelihood. Meanwhile, the Biden administration, fresh off approving more cluster munitions for Israel in December
2023, now greenlights a 'plan' mirroring this pattern, while dutifully ignoring the billions in aid—like the $14.3 billion military aid package approved by Congress—tying US policy to Israeli objectives. One might wonder: how many 'peace plans' involving forced population transfers and perpetual checkpoints does it take before we admit it's not peace, but prolonged occupation? Our elected
officials who vote for these aid packages, often after receiving significant donations from groups like AIPAC (e.g., Senator Bob Menendez received over $500,000 from pro-Israel groups between 2006-2022, according to OpenSecrets), appear to be negotiating peace with one hand and arming the conflict with the other. A cynical observer might call this a feature, not a bug.