[ ]J Street [ ]
Friends --

The Trump administration’s decision to reverse decades of US foreign
policy and legitimize settlements was heard loud and clear by the Israeli
right.

A green light for right-wing forces to charge forward with efforts to
bulldoze and build their way to permanent, undemocratic control over the
West Bank -- trampling Palestinian freedoms and Israel’s democratic future
in the process.

Trump may
be gone, but this destructive cycle hasn’t stopped.

Last month, authorities greenlit plans for almost 3,000 new settlement
units, the large majority of which lie deep within the occupied West Bank.
The government issued construction tenders for over 1,300 settlement
units, most of which are also deep within occupied territory. Construction
crews also broke ground on a project to build 31 housing units in a new
Israeli settlement that lies right in the heart of the West Bank city of
Hebron.

Meanwhile, Israeli bulldozers have destroyed the homes of nearly one
thousand Palestinians since President Trump left office -- including over
500 children. Wrecking crews have continued to demolish farms, businesses,
medical clinics and water infrastructure -- all to pave the way for more
settlements and permanent control.

Time and again, leaders in the Israeli government have continued to push
forward with settlements and demolitions knowing that the United States --
Israel’s most important partner -- rarely takes consequential public
action to push back.

Last week, the Biden administration spoke out, stating concern over the
recent announcements and reaffirming America’s opposition to settlements.
This is a good start. But to truly have an impact on the Israeli
government’s decision making, we must go further.

Together, we’re calling on President Biden’s administration to make clear
and explicit that Trump’s position on settlements no longer represents
America’s official policy -- and that constructing settlements on occupied
territory violates international law.

[ [link removed] ]Settlements Are Illegal, The Biden Administration Should Say So
[ [link removed] ]Add Your Name if You Agree ✍️

Together, we’re making clear to Washington that settlement construction is
about much more than just bricks and mortar. It’s a determined effort by
the Israeli right to entrench permanent control over the West Bank and the
millions of Palestinians who live there -- and to prevent a peaceful
two-state resolution that would secure the equal right to
self-determination for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

We’re making clear that each bulldozer and excavator not only pushes our
vision of a just, democratic Israel further and further from reach, but
also perpetuates the cycle of injustice and retaliation that inflicts
intolerable pain on all sides.

And we’re making clear that the United States -- as Israel’s strongest
partner -- cannot in any way tolerate or empower this destructive
behavior. For the sake of both peoples and our own values and interests,
we have to call it out for exactly what it is.

[ [link removed] ]Settlements Are Illegal, The Biden Administration Should Say So
[ [link removed] ]Add Your Name if You Agree ✍️

Thank you, sincerely, for your support.

Yours,

Debra Shushan
J Street Director of Government Affairs


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J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans who want
Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the Jewish people.
Working in American politics and the Jewish community, we advocate policies that
advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish and democratic values,
leading to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



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