"Israel finally admits it
will never remove illegal settlements from occupied West Bank."
Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu declared
in a speech on
Monday that Israel's
settlements in the occupied West Bank will remain "forever," remarks
many critics characterized as an explicit statement of a longstanding
commitment to maintaining and expanding settlements that have been deemed illegal under
international law.
"There will be no more
uprooting of settlements in the land of Israel," Netanyahu said. "We
will deepen our roots, build, strengthen, and settle."
"Israel finally admits it
will never remove illegal settlements from occupied West Bank," wrote AlterNet
reporter Ben Norton in response to Netanyahu's remarks, which were made during an event
"commemorating the 50th anniversary of Israel's occupation of the West
Bank."
Others argued that, given
Netanyahu's public remarks and actions, any hope that a two-state solution is a
viable option is badly misplaced.
"The 'two-state solution'
is a blatant and obvious farce that has no purpose other than to allow liberals
to justify their support for Israel," concluded The
Intercept's Glenn Greenwald, pointing to Netanyahu's speech.
Many reacted to Netanyahu's
comments similarly on social media:
eventually journalists will
have to start using the word apartheid, or they will be abetting endless
occupation http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.809444 …
The 2-state solution is dead.
Time to fight for equal rights for everyone between the Jordan river & the
sea http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.809444 …
What a partner for peace that
Bibi is. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.809444 …
Netanyahu's remarks come as
Israel has in the past two weeks destroyed
or seriously damaged at least three schools for Palestinian children in the
occupied West Bank.
"Just when they were due
to return to the classroom, Palestinian children are discovering that their
schools are being destroyed," said Hanibal Abiy Worku, a director of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC),
an independent humanitarian organization. "What threat do these schools
pose to the Israeli authorities? What are they planning to achieve by denying
thousands of children their fundamental right to education?"
Sami Mruwwah, the Palestinian
director of education, vowed to have the schools rebuilt and to "resist
against the occupation."
"What happened against
the school and its students violates human rights and childhood in
particular," Mruwwah concluded. "It is inconceivable for this world
to remain silent in the face of the crimes of occupiers against education in
Palestine.
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