#Israel’s current government & much of its political class view the #WestBank as the biblical & historical homeland of the Jewish people & see the #settlements as key to maintaining security.

Most of the international community views all settlements as illegal & an obstacle to peace.

#geopolitics #InternationalLaw #Netanyahu #WarCrimes #TwoStateSolution

#Israel captured the #WestBank, along with #Gaza & east #Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the #Palestinians want for a future state.

Since then, the Israeli government has built nearly 150 #settlements that are home to well over 500,000 Jewish #settlers. Many of the settlements resemble fully developed suburbs, with apartment blocks, shopping malls, parks & industrial zones.

#geopolitics #InternationalLaw #Netanyahu #WarCrimes #TwoStateSolution

There’s a reason why #Israel has done little to rein in settler violence. It’s not just #Netanyahu.

…[Israeli settlers in the #WestBank] are the tip of the spear for a much larger movement, supported by successive Israeli governments & supercharged under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that is aimed at cementing Israeli rule over the territory & preventing the establishment of a #PalestinianState.

#geopolitics #InternationalLaw #WarCrimes #TwoStateSolution
apnews.com/article/israel-pale…