Carte Blanche to Build:

Trump’s Israel Warning Is a Ruse

Rasa - It is said, the devil's finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist.

News ID: 427132

Date: 04 February 2017 - 23:17

RNA - The Trump administration would like us to believe that it means business when it warns the Zionist regime of Israel against carrying out “unilateral” settlement building announcements. Washington claims it fears the illegal settlements may not be helpful to the peace process, and that it wants Tel Aviv to “hold off” pending talks later this month between Trump and Netanyahu.

The usurper regime can be rest-assured that the warning is a ruse, as President Donald Trump unconditionally endorses any measures they take in the occupied West Bank, including any war against the Palestinians in Gaza.

The truth is, Washington has never been a fan of Muslims, let alone Palestinians and the so-called peace process. The Trump administration has never abandoned the idea that they are pro-Israel and pro-settlement. In fact, Trump has just made it clear that he will give even more cash and weapons to Israel in the coming months and years. He himself personally donated money to help Israel build new illegal settlements on Palestinian lands.

It’s a “carte blanche” to build as Israel wishes with no restrictions. Trump’s statement closely mirrors those related to previous statements from Obama. It’s even softer in tone than Obama’s calls for Israel to stop building settlements. Obama did nothing to stop Israel’s systematic expansion of illegal settlements. With what Trump has just done to the Muslim world with his shameful travel ban, it is certain that he won’t do anything either.

As previously, the usurper regime will never cease its illegal settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, or stop imperiling the viability of the two-state solution, end decades-long occupation of Palestinian lands, stop insidiously grabbing Palestinian land and forcing out Palestinians under various pretexts, or take affirmative steps to reverse the negative trends on the ground.

Worse still, even if the UN Security Council votes on a resolution, Israel, which has resumed plans to construct thousands of new settler units, always has the United States to veto the resolution. History tells us the Trump administration will shield Tel Aviv against such moves at the Security Council. It’s a tradition.

Take it as it is. In addition to UN complicity and US vetoes, American businesses will continue to support Israel’s settlement policies, benefiting from and contributing to them. Under the Trump administration, they will help to build, finance, service and market the new settlement units in breach of international law, UN Charter, and the Fourth Geneva Convention. They will make sure Israel’s discriminatory policies against Palestinians that govern virtually every aspect of life in the occupied territories will continue unabated.

How much longer is the world willing to endure this spectacle of wanton cruelty? The effect has been to turn Israel into a militarized regime completely dependent on US aid, willing to undertake crimes that few can endure, such as Gaza genocide. For Washington, this is a moral disaster and will eventually become a physical disaster as well. For the Palestinians and the Muslim world, it has been a catastrophe, as it may sooner or later be for the entire world.

As for the so-called peace process, it suffices to state that after 20 years of talks there has been no hint of a resolution. It is easy to predict what will come from the upcoming Trump and Netanyahu talks. They will never commit to the Oslo Accords, the 1994 framework for a Palestinian state. Also, polls consistently show most Israelis reject the specific concessions a deal almost certainly would entail. To take only one issue: They refuse to divide Jerusalem Al-Quds, the city Palestinians insist must serve as their capital. Even in the absence of any specifics at all, the Israelis never support an agreement Netanyahu might present. Netanyahu’s party’s charter calls for Israel to keep the West Bank, not make it part of a Palestinian state.

Long story short, Netanyahu’s motives for talks are not driven by the real need for peace. Quite the contrary, he wants to take part in the peace process and nonproductive talks because they serve to maintain the status quo, kill time, build more illegal settlements, and keep at bay the pressure of the world opinion, which in the absence of formal negotiations tends to focus on Israel’s creeping takeover of the West Bank with its illegal settlements.

It is past time for the Palestinians not to start another round of hopelessness. Instead, they better exercise diplomatic and legal options aimed at dragging Israel before the International Criminal Court. They should move from negotiation strategy to confrontation strategy and armed resistance in order to force the occupying regime grant them democratic rights. The Two-State Solution envisioned by the Oslo Accords is already expired, and at this point US-sponsored talks are just something to keep everyone busy until another way forward emerges. No doubt, Washington is a great place to celebrate “get-to-know-you” sessions, but it’s a cemetery for international negotiations and agreements. Any doubters should ask Iran.

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