The Wonk Room

Netanyahu Spokesman: ‘Normal Life Must Continue’ In Settlements

On a conference call today facilitated by the conservative Israel Project on “Israel’s Diplomatic Efforts for Peace,” Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev restated Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s position that “normal life” — which is the new Israeli government word for “natural growth,” which was the previous new word for “relentlessly expanding settlements” — must be able to continue, despite Israel’s previous commitments under the road map to halt such growth.

I was not able to get a question, but if I did I probably would have asked about “normal life” in Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood in Jerusalem where the Israeli authorities have been evicting families and demolishing homes as part of a larger plan to put areas of Jerusalem’s Old City under the control of settler groups. It seems to me that getting kicked out of your house and then having your house destroyed is not conducive to “normal life.”

CAP’s Brian Katulis recently returned from a trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. He published this photo essay and wrote this post about how the settlements are complicating a two-state solution.