Come on now…
This is just not an approach that has a future anymore, yet some within the Israeli government seem committed to maintaining the practice, in effect since 1967, of supporting new settlements with infrastructure by exploiting the lack of political will to stop them. Building more and more “outposts” will only result in creating more anger and mistrust with neighboring Palestinian communities, setting the stage for more settler-IDF showdowns, and leading to the traumatic uprooting of the settlers who end up there. No one benefits, except those who still hold to the 8th century BCE ideology that the settling this land through whatever means necessary takes priority over human life or political reconciliation. The construction of these outposts presents a threat to the existence of Israel as a Jewish state as it makes the two-state solution less and less feasible, and rather than strengthening Israel’s negotiating position, it further undermines their image in the world, which really can’t go much lower (some argue that it is better to be alive than popular, and though I find that argument a bit of nonsense in this situation, one can’t really argue that more West Bank outposts are keeping Israelis alive).
I do see a glimmer of hope here. If anyone is capable of confronting these settlers and those in the government who provide them with all this material support, it is the new right-wing government of Netanyahu. If they can find the moral courage to stand up to the extremists within their own camp, they might be able to make more progress than a left/center government, which would struggle to be taken seriously by the fringe elements who build these outposts. Perhaps there’s hope for Israel to live up to its Jewish name, rather than strive for mere survival, if they can stop supporting the ideology of warring tribes so popular in ancient times. The fate of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah is not one that should be repeated, but one that becomes more possible with every outpost built.
