The Problem of Settlements

It was reported this morning That Israel has rebuffed President Obama's criticism of its plan to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The Palestinians, naturally, are upset at Israeli expansion into territory they consider to be theirs. Danny Danon, of the Likud Party, scolded Obama, declaring that Obama "should not interfere with the rights of Jewish people to live in Jerusalem." The issue, however, is not so much the right of Jews to live in Jerusalem, but the right of Palestinians to live in Jerusalem. The expansion of Jewish housing and settlements is a critical issue. Every Jewish settlement is one more place where Palestinians cannot live, or sometimes even travel through.

Of course, it needn't be this way. The government could build houses and apartments, and provide schools, jobs, and services for all the residents of West Bank, Jewish and Palestinian. But this is unlikely. The first reason is Palestinian hostility toward Jews and Israel. They don't want Jews encroaching on Palestinian towns and cities or taking what they believe to be their land. It is natural that every new Jewish house, apartment, and school would be contested by the Palestinians.

The second reason is Israeli intolerance. Every new settlement built by Israel is a Jewish settlement. Every piece of land seized by Israel becomes Jewish land. Palestinians cannot live in Jewish settlements, nor can they build on Jewish land. Often, they cannot even travel through Jewish territory. The result is everything in Israel is either Jewish, or Palestinian. Everything taken by Israel is taken from Palestine. Everything taken by Palestine is taken from Israel. Little, if anything, is shared. Indeed, one reason for the grudging acquiescence to Palestinian territories was to enable Israel to rid itself of them.

Many seemingly intractable contests over land between peoples have been resolved. Often, the resolution of the conflict was identified by finding a way for the contesting people to share the land and resolve their disputes politically by sharing power. Sharing the land in Israel is evidently not an option. Neither is sharing power. The possibility of an equitable division of the land between Israelis and Palestinians is remote, particularly given the continued expansion of Israeli settlements. Continued Israeli expansion increasingly leaves Palestinians with two options: submission or violence. As futile and suicidal as Palestinian violence may be, the day might come again when it is seen by many as preferable to submission.