J Street welcomes the peaceful evacuation yesterday of the settlement outpost of Migron in compliance with the Israeli Supreme Court’s ruling that it was built illegally on private Palestinian land.
We also welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu’s statement following the evacuation that this move demonstrates that Israel is “committed to the rule of law.”
However, we take serious issue with the Prime Minister’s contention that there is “no contradiction” between a commitment to the rule of law and “strengthening settlement.”
The challenge for Israel and its friends goes far beyond one illegal settlement outpost with settler leaders like Dani Dayan claiming “the process [of settling the West Bank] is irreversible. It can’t be stopped, and the battle against it is futile.”
For the sake of Israel and its Jewish and democratic future, the settlement enterprise must be stopped and a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be achieved.