A shrinking Palestine

Palestine continues to shrink. Israel’s recent approval of its largest land seizure in the occupied West Bank in over 30 years has laid bare the Israeli government’s stark hypocrisy. This audacious move, announced in June, snatches up 12.7 square kilometers of land in the Jordan Valley, marking the biggest land grab since the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Regrettably, the history of the region is replete with such betrayals. Since seizing the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel has dotted the West Bank with settlements, now home to over 490,000 Israelis. These settlements, illegal under international law, continue to mushroom despite global disapproval, turning the dream of a two-state solution into a distant mirage. This year alone, Israel has grabbed a staggering 23.7 square kilometers in the West Bank. This land grab spree exacerbates an already volatile situation, with both Israeli military and settler violence reaching new heights, especially since the start of the genocide in Gaza. Since October, at least 553 Palestinians have been killed and 9,510 detained in the West Bank, while the conflict in Gaza has claimed over 38,000 lives. Despite all this, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, along with hard-right figures like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, continues to double down on policies that tighten the noose around Palestinian necks and obliterate peace efforts.

The global community’s passive response to these blatant confessions is mind-boggling. Israeli officials have time and again stated their intentions by their own admission. International leaders either continue to buy into the charade of peace talks or protect their self-interests over humanity. It is high time for the world to call a spade a spade, see through the Zionist smokescreen and demand genuine efforts towards peace. The world can no longer stand idly by while such gross violations are taking place.