Israel proceeds with proposal on West Bank settlements

Israel plans to build 2,500 new housing units in the West Bank — though a United Nations resolution denounced the settlements in December. 

The settlements, which the United Nations called a violation of international law, are scattered across the disputed West Bank. Although officials in the Obama administration opposed their expansion, President Donald Trump has said he supports the settlements.  

Over 400,000 Jewish residents live in settlements in the West Bank, and more than 200,000 live in East Jerusalem settlements. Israel has occupied the territory since 1967.

The U.N. resolution, passed in late December, calls the settlements a "flagrant violation of international law." The United States abstained from voting on the resolution. 

Israel said the settlements are legal — and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly praised Trump for supporting the Israeli government and the settlements. 

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement that the resolution will be a barrier to peace negotiations and asserted Israel's right to the territory.

“We will continue to be a democratic State based on the rule of law and full civil and human rights for all our citizens,” Danon said in the statement. “And we will continue to be a Jewish State proudly reclaiming the land of our forefathers.”

Trump responded to the vote by tweeting his support for the Israeli government.

“The big loss yesterday for Israel in the United Nations will make it much harder to negotiate peace. Too bad, but we will get it done anyway!” he said on Twitter Dec. 24.

Jeff Spinner-Halev, a UNC professor of political science, said Israel is capitalizing on Trump’s election and his support for the settlements. 

“Other countries may try to stop them, but without the United States, they won’t be able to,” he said. 

Brooke Davies, the president of J Street at UNC, an organization which advocates for a two-state solution, did not respond to an email request for comment. 

Basel Quran, the president of the UNC-Chapel Hill chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, said in an email that the settlements affect United States policy on immigration, social justice and international relations. 

“Palestinians have suffered and have had their ancestral land illegally stripped from them since Israel’s founding and have been kicked out of their homes in many parts of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to make way for Jewish-only settlements — the very definition of settler-colonialism,” Quran said.

Quran said the U.S. has implicitly supported the settlements by selling military technology to Israel. He said he hopes that Palestinians will gain more rights and that Palestinian injustices will be addressed.

“I believe in freedom and equality for everyone living between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River."

@ArijitDSen

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