In 2005 legal expert and left-wing activist Talia Sasson wrote a review of the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria. The report was commissioned by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
The 343-page report stated that Israel was the driving force behind establishing the settlements, which Sharon surely knew already. After all, he was the one who supported settlement development before his ideological U-turn, encouraging settlers to set facts on the ground and build as many outposts as possible.
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Israel pursued this endeavor while half-turning a blind eye to its impact – that is until Sasson and then-Attorney General Menachem Mazuz came along and decided to stifle the settlement enterprise, with the political echelon's tacit blessing.
The settlements are popular campaign destinations for MKs who smile and wave at the cameras but do not take any action. In reality, the settlers are at the mercy of the High Court of Justice and by extension, the whims of a judge.
Thousands of families live without such basics as electricity, running water, telephones, internet, education, and security infrastructures. The very government that sent these settlers to the hilltops has decided to abandon them – without fences, cameras, security, and protection.
"But what about the fact that the constructions are illegal?" you might ask. Let me remind you that the state allocated millions of shekels to regulate the illegal Bedouin settlements in the Negev and failed. Also, Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn suspended a law aggrevating penalties against illegal construction in the Arab sector, a decision that was backed by Blue and White leader Benny Gantz. Who has been overlooked? The young settlers of Judea and Samaria.
The time has come to right the wrong. The state needs to normalize the lives of thousands of Israelis who live in outposts. This should have been done a decade ago, and certainly, it should have happened in the last four years.
Now is the time to act, as long as there is still a Republican administration in the US. Nothing short of a governmental decree will suffice.
When President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, he said it was "nothing more than the recognition of reality." His recognition made history. This is precisely what we need now. A recognition of the current reality, followed by a decision that will make history. It is in the hands of the one and only Benjamin Netanyahu.
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