The Israeli government responded to last week An unprecedented joint statement The former Canadian Ambassador of Israel, John Allen, is now an older colleague at Monk School at the University of Toronto.
“He mainly tells the world that we are not really concerned with what you think about this time stage,” he told CBC News. “They really make their noses in the international community.”
The expansion of the settlement has accelerated since the arrival of the current government, the sixth in Netanyahu, at the end of 2022. But Allen says Announcing 22 new settlements – Through the new construction and the formal nature of the current settlement sites that were built outside the law – is a great escalation in several ways.
“First and foremost, it is a great matter in terms of numbers. Second, he puts the legalization of what was considered illegal settlements even in Israel by the Supreme Court,” he said.
“But most importantly, you are getting data from the ministers who mainly say that the purpose of this is to prevent a solution from the two countries, while at the same time you have activity in Gaza, which it seems that Israel may try to occupy large parts of the Gaza Strip as well.”
He said that the dramatic work is driven in the sense within the Israeli right that this is a moment now or at all.
“These ministers realize that their voting numbers are very bad and this is their last chance to try to change things significantly on the ground in Israel,” he said.
“So they are really trying another effort to kill the two -state solution.”
From the prison cell to the treasury table
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given his full support for the settlement plan, many Israelis believe that its strongest period of time comes from the country’s finance minister. Paisalel SotticWhich also occupies major jobs that give him control of the West Bank.
Smotrich only shows the prevailing policy in Israel that has changed in the past two decades.
In 2005, Sottic was one of four extremist settlers who were arrested by the betting security service in Israel on suspicion of planning violent attacks to prevent the evacuation of Israeli settlements in Gaza and the northern West Bank. Like in the security court in handcuffs and in prison.
Today, it is the second number in the government and in a position that allows it to re -establish the official settlements that he radically opposed.
Smotrich on May 19 splurge “We loosen Gaza, and leave it piles of rubble with complete destruction (which has no precedent at the global level. The world does not stop us.”
He said that his preference is cutting water as well as food, but this may lead to the intervention of other countries. He publicly stated that the goal is not to leave any Palestinians in Gaza.
On May 25, he returned to the same topic.
He said: “God has bestowed the opportunity, praise be to God, to see an expansion within the borders of the land of Israel, on all fronts.” “We are blessed with an opportunity to dismantle The sowlik seedIt is a condensation process. ”
“Loss of credibility” if Canada fails to act
“We oppose any attempt to expand settlements in the West Bank,” wrote Prime Minister Mark Carney and Prime Minister British Care Starmer and Emmanuel Macron from France in their joint statement last week.
“Israel must stop settlements, which are illegal, undermine the authority of the Palestinian state and the security of both Israelis and the Palestinians. We will not hesitate to take more measures, including targeted sanctions.”
Thomas Juno, a former Canadian defense official who is now studying around the Middle East at the College of Graduate Studies in the University of Utawa University, told CBC News that Israel’s declaration leaves Canada with a great choice but to support its words.
The World Health Organization warns that the risk of famine and collective hunger in Gaza. Palestinian health officials say that dozens of children have died due to malnutrition since March, the month of Israel has prevented all aid shipments.
“It has put pressure on the Canadian government, but also on French, British, German governments and other European governments, meaning that there was a clear position that was taken last week on the threat of actions against Israel,” Juno said.
“So if Canada and the Europeans do not now do anything about 22 new settlements in the West Bank, there is a loss in the credibility that you will follow.”
Former Ambassador Allen said that Canada could not mark like the joint statement he signed last week, then leave such a provocative response without taking action.
“Frankly, I do not think they will ignore this. I think that these three governments were serious about what they say, and I expect to follow the sanctions,” he told CBC News.
The penalties must target ministers: the former ambassador
Canada has already imposed a A handful of extremist settlersAlcohol grudgingly and Follow -up only The measures taken by European allies.
But Western sanctions had no practical impact on individual settlers, who sometimes dealt with an honor badge.
Despite his condemnation several times by Western governments, the most extreme ministers in the cabinet in Netanyahu have so far avoided sanctions. Britain David Cameron I told the BBC last year He was preparing penalties for Smotrich and ITAMAR BEN GVIR before his government elections were defeated. Bin Jafir is Shepherd extremist Which was also once goal To monitor Shin Hann, but now the Israeli National Security Minister.
Allen says that there will be a minimal point in repeating the ineffective sanctions on individual settlers, when the settlement policy is clearly driven from the top.
“I believed that (the joint statement) was the strongest and most comprehensive that I saw before from the Canadian government. But if they had no follow -up, after they issued a specific threat, then a sound leveling, so I think it would be a paper statement.”
Allen Sottic, Ben Jafir and Defense Minister defined Israel Katz as members of the three cabinets who lead the most extreme policies.
“If I advise them, I will stipulate them with the punishment of the relevant ministers, all of them,” he told CBC News. “But we have to realize that Prime Minister Netanyahu is the Prime Minister and that he allows all this to happen,” he said.
Netanyahu relying on Trump
Juno says, at such times, Netanyahu tends to rely on Israel’s relationship with Washington. The Trump administration is the only government in the world It is not always considered The West Bank in Israel is settled as illegal by its nature under the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits a victorious party in the war from moving its residents to mysterious lands, or forcing the civilian population living there to leave.
Juno said: “The extent that there is an increasing direction for the European authorities and Canada that Israel is irritating, and this only matters at most in a secondary way in the account of the current Israeli government,” Juno said.
US President Donald Trump, who suggested expelling Gaza residents to turn the region into a kind of international Referra tourismJuno said it was unlikely to interact strongly with the declaration of the settlement. “But there are a lot of evidence that the Trump administration is somewhat growing with Israel.”
Signs include the fact that both Trump and Vice President JD Vance visited the Middle East without stopping in Israel, that Trump clearly ignored Israeli desires and objections In negotiations with both Iran and the Houthis Yemen Continuous rumors that Trump is secretly negotiating a kind of the major deal with Saudi Arabia without Israeli inputs.
Juno said: “All of this collects anxiety in Israel,” Juno said.
Canada is likely to coordinate with the allies
Canada will likely want to coordinate its response with the British and French governments that participated in signing the joint statement last week, says experts.
Juno said: “As it can have a limited but real effect when it works with its allies, especially in Europe, but others also: Australia, Japan, South Korea and a few others,” Juno said.
“If there is a coordinated campaign, not only from sticks towards Israel, but also support for the Palestinian Authority and the peace camp in Israel, there can be an impact.”
This week, European countries that did not sign the joint statement warned Israel separately that its patience was at the end of it.
Foreign Minister of Italy He said The Israeli war in Gaza had taken “exciting forms completely and not acceptable” and “it must stop immediately.” Governor Germany Adviser Friedrich Mirz, an unconditional supporter of Israel, He said This is “what the Israeli army is doing in the Gaza Strip, I no longer understand the target, to harm the civilian population in this way.”
For the first time, Germany threatened the “consequences” if Israel did not change the direction, and Foreign Minister Johan Wadil said that the “mandatory solidarity” days with Israel have ended.
Juno says that Canada has no choice but to demand respect for the two -state formula and international law.
“If peace remains the goal, if security remains the target, then there is no alternative other than coexistence between the Palestinian side and the Israeli side.”
“I think everyone who participates in the European side, on the Canadian government side, understands well the peace of peace. But it remains the only acceptable option.”
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