Despite “freeze” settlements being built at fastest pace since 2000

According to the most recent report on settlements by the Foundation for Middle East Peace, a Washington-based think tank, “the main operational effect of the settlement moratorium announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on November 26 has been to increase the pace of authorized new settlement housing construction above historical averages.”

At present, “close to 4,000 dwellings are currently under construction in West Bank settlements, a rate of construction not seen since 2000.” Wow, that’s a long time ago.

2000? Hmm, 2000? Why does that year ring a bell? Wasn’t there something else going on in the Middle East then?

Indeed, there was. July 2000 was the moment of Barak’s so-called generous offer, which those intransigent Palestinians rejected just so they could start another intifada.

As Israel was talking peace, then like now, it was engaging in the colonization of the future Palestinian state at one of the fastest rates ever seen in the history of the conflict.

This is roughly all that needs to be known about Israel’s intentions toward peace. Bradley Burnton, a columnist for Haaretz, concluded: the offer was “forcing Israel to confront peace terms it has quietly feared for decades.”

Tagged as: Ethnic Cleansing, Ethnonationalism, Peacemaking, Settlements