Israel has never been truly concerned with international law, but it needed this US green light to move forward with annexing at least 60 percent of the occupied West Bank. Indeed, with the hemorrhaging of US concessions to Israel, Netanyahu is eager for more.
Desperate to strengthen his faltering grip on power, the Israeli leader agreed on 20 November to advance a bill that calls for the annexation of the Jordan Valley. The bill was drafted by Sharren Haskel, a member of the Israeli Likud Netanyahu's party who tweeted following the Prime Minister's decision that the US announcement was "an opportunity to promote my law for sovereignty in the [Jordan] Valley."
The US decision to defy international law on settlements is not dangerous because it violates international law, for the latter has hardly ever been a concern for Washington. The danger actually lies in the fact that US foreign policy regarding the Israeli occupation has become a mere rubber stamp that allows Israel's extreme right-wing government to determine single-handedly the fate of the Palestinian people and sow the seeds of instability and war in the Middle East for many years to come.
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