Are the Palestinians supposed to think better of the Europeans now that five EU member states, Britain, Denmark, France, Spain and Sweden, have called in the Israeli ambassadors in their capitals to protest formally the latest decision to expand illegal settlements? Where were these coordinated expressions of outrage in the past, as Israel was busy creating its sinister “fact on the ground”? How come Zionists have been allowed to get away with creating a ring of settlements on stolen Palestinian land around East Jerusalem and across the occupied West Bank, so that now the construction of 3,000 new housing units in the so-called E1 area will complete the encirclement of the Palestinian capital and cut the West Bank in two? The hypocrisy of this move is breathtaking. Clearly these European states do not appreciate just how much of a pathetic and reprehensible light their sudden protestations throw on their long-lived passivity over one of the world's most scandalous land grabs. For sure there have been objections before from these countries based on UN Resolutions that condemn the Israeli settlements, but they have been, at best, half-hearted. Had they been the least bit serious, they would have been backed by the threat of sanctions, which would now be in place and hopefully biting, because the illegal settlements are a cornerstone of Zionist policy for a greater (Eretz) Israel. EU states have been quite content to join in sanctions against Saddam Hussein's Iraq and Bashar Al-Assad's Syria and the nuclear suspect Iran, but not against Israel. And this last double standard is stunning. Israel is already a nuclear power, refuses to sign international agreements on non-proliferation and absolutely rejects any notion that the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency should be allowed to inspect its nuclear facilities. Yet where is the robust European denunciation of this flagrant behavior? Moreover, what is likely to be the effect on the Netanyahu government of having five of its ambassadors in Europe called in for “formal protests”? The answer, of course, is zilch. Complaints without threat of consequences are merely hot air, and that is precisely what the British, Danes, French, Spanish and Swedes have been blowing. In many respects it might have been better had they kept silent. Moreover, the telling-off from Washington was hardly less craven. The message from a State Department spokesman that the new illegal settlements were “contrary to US policy” is pure hokum. The US has stood behind Israel throughout its illegal settlement building campaign. Now that this has reached a pivotal moment, to say it is wrong is sickeningly two-faced. State went on to say that the new land grab threatened the two-state solution to which the US is committed.
But was not a just settlement for the Palestinians threatened the minute the first illegal Israeli brick was laid on stolen Palestinian land over 40 years ago? Perhaps equally depressing is the fact that the EU, despite it now having a High Representative for Foreign Affairs, was clearly unable to speak with a single voice on this. The Germans, haunted by the anti-Semitic savagery of the Nazis, have since 1945 been unwavering in their support for Israel. But there are 27 EU member states. How come only five of them managed to protest, even in the mildest and most spineless manner?
