History of the Settlement Movement
Following Israel’s resounding victory over the Arab armies in the
Six-Day War, strategic concerns led both of Israel’s major political parties - the
Labor and
Likud - to support and establish settlements at various times. The first settlements were built by Labor governments from 1968 to 1977, with the explicit objective to secure a Jewish majority in key strategic regions of the West Bank - such as the
Tel Aviv-
Jerusalem corridor - that were the scene of heavy fighting in several of the
Arab-Israeli wars. In 1968, only five sparsely populated settlements existed beyond the
Green Line.
Okay, so let's talk.
First, about the Green Line. The 1949 Armistice lines were an agreement between Jordan and Egypt (and others, but let's not complicate) and Israel. The lines were nothing more than a mutual agreement to stop fighting. Those lines no longer applied when Jordan and Egypt (and others, but let's not complicate) broke the Armistice Agreement with belligerent action against Israel. And they certainly no longer applied when Jordan and Egypt made peace agreements with Israel. The "Green Line" no longer exists, and hasn't for decades.
Second, the Green Line has NOTHING. AT. ALL. TO. DO. WITH. THE. PALESTINIANS.
Third, the REASON there was only a few sparsely populated places where Jews lived beyond the Green Line between 1948 and 1967 was because all the Jews either fled or were forcibly removed from the area.
Next, let's talk about securing Jewish presence in "key strategic regions". Yep. That's political. Securing the Tel Aviv - Jerusalem corridor -- political. Securing the Jerusalem - Jericho corridor -- political. Securing the Golan Heights -- political. Absolutely. Securing the Jordan Valley -- political. These are security decisions. Places where there WAS heavy fighting or where future heavy fighting is anticipated. I'm not arguing that there are not political aspects to this.
BUT I'm going to argue that the "settlement movement" -- that is -- the for the Jewish people to settle their homeland is a movement and not an act of politics or an act of a government asserting sovereignty. (I'd argue the same is true for the Arab Palestinians).
So where does that leave us? Ultimately, there are two peoples who are (at least theoretically) vying for territory on which to establish their self-determination. The final outcome of which territory belongs to which people has yet to be determined. The idea that the Jewish people are obligated to actively sabotage their own self-determination in order to create Jew-free space for the Arab Palestinians to maybe, one-day, eventually, if they feel like it and get around to it instead of trying to just destroy Jews and Israel, is absolutely ludicrous.
