Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed never to dismantle Jewish illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Speaking yesterday at an event in the settlement of Revava – which forms part of the Ariel settlement bloc located off Route 60, south of Nablus – Netanyahu vowed that there would be no uprooting of Israel’s West Bank settlements as long as he remains prime minister.
#NSTworld: Israeli settlements are viewed as illegal under international law and major obstacles to peace since they are located on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.https://t.co/oRSjxvEATg
— New Straits Times (@NST_Online) July 10, 2019
Netanyahu stressed:
“No communities will be uprooted, not those of Jews, and by the way, not those of Arabs either. We don’t uproot people. We’re through with that nonsense. Israel under my leadership hasn’t returned and won’t return to the mistakes of the past.”
Netanyahu’s promise not to uproot “Arabs” will likely be seen as ironic given his government’s routine demolition of Palestinian villages, both in the occupied West Bank and Israel itself.
Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, has vowed never to dismantle Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu vowed that there would be no uprooting of Israel’s West Bank settlements as long as he remains prime minister.#Palestine#Gaza pic.twitter.com/pelNc4RxLl
— Mahmoud Ghanem (@MahmoudGhanemPK) July 11, 2019
Al-Araqeeb – a Bedouin village located in the Negev desert in southern Israel – has been demolished 146 times, many of which took place during Netanyahu’s premiership.
Netanyahu’s government has sought to demolish Khan Al-Ahmar, a Bedouin village located east of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank. The village’s plight garnered international attention last year, prompting Israel to delay the demolition repeatedly.
Why does Israel's apartheid regime keep on destroying the Bedouin community of Al Araqeeb over & over again? pic.twitter.com/9LmbU33GxZ
— Days of Palestine (@DaysofPalestine) January 8, 2018
The planned demolition has once again been delayed until December, with commentators believing the postponement is due to the fact that Israel will now hold fresh elections on 17 September and any uprooting of the community could cause unwanted negative press coverage.
Netanyahu also addressed the promise he made ahead of Israel’s April election, in which he vowed to annex the West Bank if he was re-elected.
Al Araqeeb Village: Palestinian bedouins refuse to surrender 116 times | Jordan Times https://t.co/5pIPhMdgLI pic.twitter.com/GsmJfaaeOw
— Ramzy Baroud (@RamzyBaroud) August 16, 2017
The Prime Minister claimed:
“We are on the way, we are discussing [it] … We will move on to the next stage, to gradually apply Israeli sovereignty in [the West Bank].”
The prime minister added that he is discussing the annexation with the administration of US President Donald Trump, in a bid to win American support for the move.
Though the Trump administration has not explicitly promised to back Netanyahu’s annexation bid, statements made by a number of top administration officials has led onlookers to believe Netanyahu could win the US’ approval.
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
