What should the world’s leading nations do when land is seized by a foreign power in clear defiance of international law? As recent events have shown, it seems to depend entirely on which country is involved. If it’s Russia annexing Crimea and then sending troops into eastern Ukraine, sanctions are imposed.
So why ought the international community respond with nothing more than empty words of condemnation when Israel declares that 400 hectares near Bethlehem is now "state land"? This constitutes the largest seizure of Palestinian land since the 1980s and is little more than a pretext for a long-planned settlement to be built there.
There is the facade of legal process about this because the Palestinians have the option to appeal by proving ownership, but previous experience has shown this to be little more than a sham. As The National reported yesterday, the Israeli government already invited bids last year for the construction of 1,000 housing units on the site.
This is a statement of intent by the Israeli government that it will continue to take the land that the Palestinians intend to be their future state. Previous condemnatory statements have done nothing to dissuade Israel from expanding its settlements and a more rigorous response is needed, particularly from the United States and the European Union.
Both have mechanisms of influence at their disposal to ensure that this kind of land grab by Israel incurs a significant cost.
The United States in particular provides $3 billion (Dh 11bn) in a range of forms of aid and military assistance to Israel each year and needs to voice the same kind of political outrage it has used against Russian aggression in the eastern regions of Ukraine.
The European Union is a major Israeli trading partner, amounting to €33 billion (Dh159bn) in 2012. Last year it imposed new guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities working within Israeli settlements in Palestine for funding by the EU. Twelve more EU states have joined the UK, Germany and France in pushing their citizens not to do business with Israeli settlements. There is much more the EU could do – or threaten to do.
In the modern era, Russia’s aggression and defiance of Ukraine’s sovereignty has not been allowed to occur without major consequences. The same standard should apply to Israel’s seizure of Palestinian land.
