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we’re calling on President Biden’s administration to make clear and explicit that Trump’s position on settlements no longer represents America’s official policy -- and that constructing settlements on occupied territory violates international law.
Settlements Are Illegal, The Biden Administration Should Say So
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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.
Settlements Are Illegal, The Biden Administration Should Say So
Add Your Name if You Agree ✍️
Thank you, sincerely, for your support.
Yours,
Debra Shushan
J Street Director of Government Affairs
