In a major speech on Wednesday at the State Department, Secretary of State John Kerry issued a strong rebuke to Israel for its ongoing support of settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. To understand why this matters, you have to understand what settlements are, how they got there in the first place, and what their presence means for the Israel-Palestine conflict. This eight-minute video might help:
Israeli settlements, explained in 8 minutes
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often more a war of narratives than of weapons (though there are plenty of weapons). Both sides claim the West Bank as legitimately belonging to them. And both sides list a wide spectrum of reasons for their claims, including international law, biblical history, and family heritage.
The settler narrative is one of return, not conquest. The settlers believe they are returning to the ancient lands of Judea and Samaria where many of the events in the Jewish Bible took place.
But in addition to the biblical overtones to their mission, the settlers also have a political mission: to possess the West Bank and prevent a Palestinian state there. As the settler population swells, any scenario of a Palestinian state that encompasses the entire West Bank dwindles. It's simply not plausible to remove more than 400,000 residents from their established communities.
Early settlers referred to their mission as "creating facts on the ground," meaning creating a real-life Jewish presence in the West Bank such that any negotiations would have to take them into account.
"Creating facts" was originally the work of zealous activists who moved onto hilltop outposts, unsanctioned by even the Israeli government. But the settlers later began to receive institutional support from the government.
Over time, and especially as Israeli politics has shifted rightward, the settler movement has become an institutionalized part of Israeli society. Support comes in the form of building permits, public investment, and even incentives for Israelis to move into the West Bank.
While peace talks remain frozen, the settlements continue to grow, making any possibility of a Palestinian state in the West Bank faint. Watch the video above for an overview of the history of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
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