(American Interest) Walter Russell Mead - What people call "settlements" fall in several categories including construction in eastern Jerusalem and construction in the "settlement blocs," neighborhoods that everybody involved in the negotiations, including the Palestinians, has understood for decades will be part of Israel when and if a two-state agreement is reached. These account for the bulk of Israelis living in the territories, and building there, while provocative from a Palestinian point of view, does not represent a breach of the status quo. When reading that the Israeli government has authorized new construction in "settlements," one has to know which settlements and where to understand what the policy actually is. Most of the new units will be in large settlements near the 1967 lines. The writer is professor of foreign affairs and humanities at Bard College and professor of American foreign policy at Yale University.
2017-02-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive