The coordinated announcement by Britain, France, Canada, and nine other nations to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements is a welcome step, and one that is several decades overdue. For too long, the international community paid scant attention to the settlements, which had been steadily expanding for decades before almost tripling in size in the past few years. Because the Palestinian Territories must be handed over to any future Palestinian state, the presence of Israeli settlements could make compliance with statehood conditions unachievable, as Israeli governments are unlikely to evict entire towns at gunpoint, even if the residents are all land-grabbing thieves and terrorists under international law. In fact, that appears to be the point. Israel is currently being governed by the most corrupt, far-right government in its history, and its active support of settlement activity is part of a populist ploy to keep extremist Jews in its corner.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband noted while addressing the ban that his country can no longer simply call out injustice but must act. He also acknowledged that Israel's actions in the West Bank amount to ethnic cleansing. But the trade restrictions are mostly symbolic, as they do not affect arms deals or even reduce the supply of weapons that are being used by the Israelis. The signatories to the restrictions can make moves in the right direction by convincing the EU and other countries that have ties with Israel to take similar action against Israel, and add the threat of wider sanctions or other restrictions. They must also start calling a spade a spade. The carnage in Gaza is a genocide by any measure, but only a handful of countries accept it as such.
We could also call for the UN to take action beyond General Assembly Resolutions, but that would be a waste of time, because there is no way that US President Donald Trump would allow any meaningful anti-Israel action to make it out of the boardroom and into the real world.
Source link
