One of the top envoys to US President Donald Trump, Jason Greenblatt, has said that he prefers to call Israel’s illegal West Bank settlements “neighborhoods and cities”.
The US Special Representative for International Negotiations made the comments while addressing the “Israel Hayom Forum for US-Israel Relation,” which was held in Jerusalem yesterday.
The arrogance & lack of understanding of @jdgreenblatt45 is beyond belief. When foreign invaders militarily seize your land, build colonies for its people, & displace you, IT’S NOT A NEIGHBORHOOD! It’s an illegal settlement. What doesn’t he get? https://t.co/xOjdYxNyLi
— James J. Zogby (@jjz1600) June 28, 2019
Discussing the prospect of peace between Israel and Palestine, Greenblatt said that
“We might get there if people stop pretending settlements, or what I prefer to call ‘neighborhoods and cities,’ are the reason for the lack of peace”.
Israel currently has over 500 settlements across the occupied West Bank, which are inhabited by approximately one million settlers. These settlements are illegal under international law, which forbids the transfer of civilian populations into occupied territory.
The Day After: What if #Israel Annexes the West Bank? By Ramzy Baroudhttps://t.co/1OfRjGHpdD @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/Q3fycAcmj6
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 26, 2019
Many of these settlements have grown into “settlement blocs”, which extend far beyond the Green Line and cut deep into the West Bank, engulfing land on which any future Palestinian state will be built.
The question of what to do with these settlements has proved a stumbling block in several peace negotiations, with the Oslo Accords designating the settlements a “final status” issue to be resolved at a later date.
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
