Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel advocates for the complete colonisation of Palestine

Adhering to the continuous Zionist plans of colonisation, Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel emphasised the supremacy garnered from settlement expansion and the commitment to eradicate any remaining slivers of Palestinian territory.

Speaking at an activity commemorating the Israeli designated ‘Jerusalem Day’ which marks the commencement of colonisation of East Jerusalem in 1967, Ariel stated, “There will be just one state between the Jordan River and the sea, and that is the State of Israel.” With reference to the ongoing settlement construction, Ariel added, “There are no [construction] freezes and there will be no more freezes – we won’t allow it. We won’t accept delays and restrictions [on buildings], not in Jerusalem and not in Judea and Samaria.” Briefly, the statement confirms the ruthless adherence to the entire colonisation of Palestine while relying upon peace as a formidable camouflage for mainstream media to disseminate.

In 2012, Ariel advocated for the entire annexation of the West Bank, expounding upon the oppressive conditions of assimilation required from Palestinians affected by such a possibility. According to the Times of Israel, Ariel declared that annexation would entail the granting of Israeli citizenship to Palestinians after five years, upon condition of a citizenship test, a Hebrew language test and signing “a statement of loyalty to Israel” in order to be granted voting rights. Palestinian opposition to this coercive violence was also acknowledged by Ariel, who added, “Most would not want to do so.”

In the last few days, MKs from Likud and the Jewish Home Party declared their intentions to seek approval in order to facilitate annexation of Jewish colonial settlements in the West Bank. With reference to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent interview with Bloomberg in which unilateral action was suggested, Naftali Bennett stated, “The era of negotiations has come to an end. I’m hearing talk about unilateral action on Israel’s part and I support that.” Despite the lack of clarity with regard to the intention of unilateral action, Bennett’s interpretation of Netanyahu’s statement conforms to the possibility of annexation.

The farcical negotiations have been deemed a failure and a stalemate – both descriptions are inaccurate and obscure the ongoing historical reality of dwindling Palestinian territory. Within this context, Ariel’s comments portray the benefits of negotiations on Israel’s behalf, namely the exploitation of peace to consolidate settler-colonialism. As with other political interpretations of concepts, colonial violence in all forms remains a priority for Israel. The negotiations, a form of political violence rendered subtle only due to the mainstream insistence to obscure obvious intimidation of Palestinians as necessary to peace, are nothing but an additional means for Israel to conform to early Zionist plans for complete colonisation.

Notwithstanding the continuous vociferous declarations in this regard, Israel’s international allies prefer a commitment to silence rather than acknowledge international law violations and complicity. Ariel’s comments reiterate the existence of Palestinian history and memory as elements necessitating elimination, while the compromised international community aids the enforced oblivion by rendering Palestinians insignificant through insistence upon bargaining for alleged peace in favour of Israel, depicting the absence of a challenge to colonialism.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.