In a reply to a Supreme Court petition by the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now, the government said it had taken steps in recent weeks to authorize retroactively four West Bank outposts built without official permission.a) the Oslo Accords do not deny Israel the privilege of continuing the construction of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Indeed, "settlements" are not a cause of the conflict.
"The intention to legalize outposts as new settlements is no less than a slap in the face of Secretary Kerry's new process and is blatant reassurance to settler interests," Peace Now said in a statement.
...Last week, Peace Now and Israeli media reports said Netanyahu has been quietly curbing some settlement activity by freezing tenders for new housing projects, in an apparent effort to help the U.S. drive to renew peace talks.
b) if the court is satisfied legalities are in order, Peace Now is judicially wrong.
and note this headline:
the outposts are not strictly "illegal" but rather unauthorized as a result of bureaucratic and political considerations, in the main.
c) if a "slap in the face" is problematic, Peace Now has been slapping Israel around for three decades, ever weakening its public diplomacy.
d) even if a "Palestinian state" be established, Heavens forbid, the idea that Jews cannot live there and build homes there is morally abhorrent - I'd call it apartheid - and illegal.
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