The settlements: shrapnel in Israel’s backside

When Naftali Bennett compared the Palestinians to shrapnel in the backside of an IDF soldier, undoubtedly many public figures in Israel identifies with his allegory. Bennett, Israel’s newest political star and now Economy Minister, asserted it was better to leave the shrapnel where it is than risk paralysis in removing it. Having seen how the political issue was marginalized during the last elections, and how the social protest movement of 2011 embraced the settlers, it’s clear that Bennett isn’t the only one who believes it’s better to leave the shrapnel firmly lodged in Israel’s backside, which will lead to nothing worse than occasional discomfort. Indeed, Bennett has many partners both inside and outside the Knesset.

Let us not forget how effortlessly Bennett teamed up with Yair Lapid and forced upon Netanyahu a coalition free of the ultra-Orthodox parties, thus leaving two major ministries – the Ministry of Construction and Housing, and the Ministry of Economy – in the hands of the settlers, who are fast becoming the mainstay of Netanyahu’s government. In an interview with the New York Times (May 19), Lapid expressed opposition to freezing settlement construction, claiming that it’s not certain Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is a “partner for peace.” The idea that the conflict is unsolvable is accepted by a majority starting from the right wing coalition and ending at the Labor Party, and this has indeed made the Palestinians mere shrapnel in Israel’s behind.

Since Obama’s visit, US Secretary of State John Kerry has been trying to kick-start negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. So far, Israel has made no reply to all his visits and entreaties to enter serious talks. Bennett announces that the Palestinian issue is not on the agenda and Lapid backs him up, while Tzipi Livni fumes on the sidelines declaring she refuses to be a fig-leaf for an extreme rightwing government. However, that’s exactly what she is. Since the conflict is unsolvable, we can finish the business and build under every tree and on every hilltop, until the two-state solution becomes a forgotten dream.

The settlers’ victory

The settlers’ victory is so sweeping that they’re willing to bring up the issue themselves while the opposition mumbles and stutters, devoid of any alternative program. Buoyed by the knowledge that retaining the “settlements blocs” and the city of Ariel has become part of the consensus, the settlers continue their settlement efforts, supported by Netanyahu and Likud-Beiteinu. According to their vision, the settlement blocs will be swallowed up by settlement throughout Area C, and the Palestinians will receive nothing but the enclaves under Palestinian Authority control. While those on Israel’s Left gave up grappling with the issue, the settlers continue marching forward, sure in the knowledge that those who now agree to the settlement blocs will eventually agree to annexation.

Of course, this sliver of shrapnel will hurt more than Bennett lets on. Just recently Bennett was compelled to denounce the work of his wayward followers who sprayed “Arabs out” in the Arab town of Abu Ghosh, a town close to Jerusalem within the Green Line and thus Israeli. This was the work of a loosely united group who sign themselves off as “price tag,” which is a reference to the price Palestinians will pay each time the settlers are hurt. Last week something similar happened in Jaffa’s cemetery. Who knows where it will happen next? Interestingly, the omnipotent General Security Services (Shin Bet) haven’t been able to locate a single suspect. The reason is clear: when all settlers hate Arabs and wish only for their “disappearance,” “price tag” is a general term for any act which satisfies a person’s racial urges without obliging him to be part of a formal organization. Moreover, “they haven’t killed anyone yet,” as Netanyahu put it as he explained his opposition to branding “price tag” a terror organization.

Warped fantasy of annexation

Those on the Left who welcomed Ariel Sharon’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip are now stuck with the tragic consequences of their support. Sharon got out of Gaza in order to keep hold of the West Bank. When Hamas took over the Strip, the Palestinian Authority ceased representing all Palestinians, and the “Palestinian partner” disappeared. Gaza will become a Palestinian state if the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt opens the Rafah crossing for its Hamas brethren. Then, when the Palestinian question has been “solved”, the settlers will be able to annex the West Bank.

Print Friendly