Saturday, June 10: West Bank Annexation
Some people just talk about colonizing, Israel really gets the job done
Back in February, while western news outlets were drooling and marveling at how Israelis were in the streets “protesting for the soul of their nation”, the apartheid enthusiasts were up to no good.
The most right-wing governing coalition in the colonizers’ young, violent history took plenty of flack for proposing legislative changes that would weaken their judiciary and dismantle checks and balances. These proposals provoked protests of tens of thousands of people, the subject of much western flattery. Meanwhile another bureaucratic change went unnoticed that has been just as significant. These far-right bozos changed the basic laws of their government to allow themselves to appoint a special new minister within the Ministry of Defense.
Apartheid Israel’s ultranationalist leaders agreed on what their new minister would do: they’d assume certain civil authorities over life in the West Bank, which had previously been under the jurisdiction of the repulsive IDF. This seemingly-small administrative change equates to declaring Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, a clear violation of the UN Charter’s prohibition against territorial conquest. The transfer of power destroys any illusion that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is temporary. It further entrenches an unequal, two-tiered (apartheid) legal system for Israelis and Palestinians, AND it solidifies permanent Israeli control over the West Bank.
Of course the change of occupation authority will affect the everyday lives of Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the West Bank. This new civilian minister will lead a “settlement authority,” to manage the affairs of Jews, while Palestinians will remain under military control. The move cements superior status for illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank. For example, the IDF will continue to set water rates for Palestinians but the new civilian authority will control water for Jews, facilitating unequal water allocation for the two groups. The civilian authority will promote and authorize settlement and infrastructure for Jewish settlers, a clear violation of international law against establishing civilian rule in occupied territory.
These new authorities will ignore anything resembling international law without a second thought. The minister will have the power to decide who can build homes, schools, and public structures, and, importantly, which communities will be demolished. This is an obvious formula to expand illegal Jewish settlement and continue to suppress Palestinian life. What was previously done by the IDF will now be under the official jurisdiction of a new minister. How convenient.
Side Items
More Trump Stuff: The government charged Trump yesterday with 37 criminal counts in total; 31 relating to sensitive documents that he kept and the remaining charges relating to obstructing the investigation. Trump allegedly knowingly removed classified information from the white house, taking it down to his Florida scum swamp with him. The information was sensitive, including maps relating to the country’s military vulnerabilities, and Trump allegedly left the documents in public places where others might have seen them. My personal favorite is the oddly-decorated bathroom with low hanging chandeliers and boxes of our nation’s secrets piled high, right next to a strangely low toilet. Of course Trump says he’s innocent and the whole case is a witch hunt intended to prevent him from returning to the presidency, so we’ll doubtlessly be hearing about this for the next 8 - 14 months
Amazonian Children: Four Indigenous children apparently survived a plane crash in the Amazon that killed three adults and then wandered on their own in the jungle for 40 days before being found alive earlier this week by Colombian soldiers. No details have been released on how the four siblings (aged 13, 9, 4 and 11 months) managed to survive on their own for so long. The plane crash happened way back on May 1st, when the small plane they were riding in experienced engine failure. The children are members of the Huitoto people, and officials said the oldest kids in the group had some knowledge of how to survive in the rainforest. Respect to these kids; 40 days lost in the jungle would absolutely drive most people insane
Soccer’s Super Bowl: The UEFA Champions League final is this afternoon, as Manchester City look to complete a historic treble by doing what everyone expects them to do. The stage is set for Inter Milan to play the underdog and shock the world. I definitely don’t have strong feelings either way, but I always enjoy watching Pep Guardiola’s bald dome grow more and more shiny with sweat