Israel’s juvenile settlement legalization law

The newspapers cannot even agree on a name for the law that the Knesset passed last night, with a 60-52 vote.

One option: Provocative Law to Retroactively Legalize Settlements.

Another one: historic legislation hailed by the Right.

Another one: Contentious Palestinian Land-grab Bill.

Another one: Sweeping legislation that aims to prevent future demolitions of settler homes built on private Palestinian land.

What is this law really about?

It is a law that aims to prevent the evacuation of homes built on Palestinian-owned land many years ago – that is, to save a few hundred settlers an inconvenience. It is a law aimed to demonstrate to the public that the Knesset is doing everything within its power to support the settlers – an important political voting bloc. It is a law aimed at scoring points within the right-wing camp as its leaders try to position themselves for a future battle for Israel’s leadership in a post-Netanyahu era. It is a law aimed as provoking the High Court into proving, once more, that the incompetence of the right is truly the fault of legal elites rather than misguided policies.

Put me as an all-of-the-above responder. And also none-of-the-above. My headline for this morning – following the vote that affirmed the law that allows Israel to compensate a Palestinian land-owner, instead of evacuating a settler from a home built on the Palestinian’s land – is somewhat different. My headline is:

The Knesset passes provocative Frustration Law.

The Knesset passes – that’s a fact.

Provocative – I think that is also a fact. The Palestinians were provoked, the Israeli left was provoked, the status quo was provoked, and I assume many countries in the so-called International Community will claim to be provoked.

Law – Another fact. At least for now. It is a certainty that a legal appeal will force Israel’s High Court to decide whether this law is truly legal. It is widely assumed that the High Court is going to reject the legality of this law – as the Attorney General warned the government it will.

Frustration – Yes, that is the part I need to explain. Why do I call it the Frustration Law?

I will begin by reminding us all that Israel’s right-of-center coalition has been in power for most of the time since 1977. It is a strong coalition that has the support of most Israelis – and even more so of Jewish Israelis. It is a coalition that includes secular and traditional hawks, religious Zionists and ultra-Orthodox parties. It is a coalition sympathetic to Israeli settlements and to Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

It is also a coalition that never agreed on and never presented a coherent remedy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While a dreamy Israeli left is willing to hand the Palestinians land in Judea and Samaria in return for peace; and while a more sober Israeli left-of-center advocates for an Israeli withdrawal from parts of Judea and Samaria to have a clear Jewish majority and rid Israel of the occupation (even if there is no peace as a result of such a move); the right-religious coalition is split and incoherent. Some factions of it maintain that the status quo is currently the only option. Some insist on a two-state solution yet maintain that the other state – Palestine – will be a “state minus,” whatever that means. Some want to keep all the settlements in place, and all the land in Israeli hands, and give the Palestinians “autonomy” (autonomy-plus is a little less than a state-minus). Some want to annex the territory and give all Palestinians the right to become Israeli citizens.

So the right has many solutions but not a solution. Moreover, it has many solutions that cannot be sold: Israelis are not quite comfortable with adding two million (or one and a half, as if that matters) Palestinian citizens. The international community does not accept the legality of settlements. The Palestinians show no inclination to accept any less than a full state status. The High Court insists that lawfulness has to be maintained.

The right is stuck. It has the political power, it controls the government and the Knesset, but it does not have a clear solution to sell, and does not have the majority to support it. Thus, it passes a law that is more an airing of frustrations than it is a solution to anything.

The right-wing coalition is frustrated with Israelis who do not accept its solutions (the “left” – namely, all those who do not support the coalition). The right-wing coalition is frustrated with an international community that attempts to pressure Israel to accept a solution that is also no solution. The right-wing coalition is frustrated with a court that refuses to let it look for solutions outside the boundaries of the law. The right-wing coalition is naturally frustrated with Palestinians, who refuse to agree to its prescribed remedy for the conflict.

So it turns to the immature non-solution of passing meaningless laws and declaring victory. As if keeping some home in the settlement of Ofra from being evacuated – in the unlikely scenario in which the court accepts the legality of the new legislation – solves anything. As if giving Israel the right to compensate private owners of land in the West Bank rather than letting them keep their land is going to lighten the burden of the conflict whose roots are deep and whose immunity to solution is strong.

No, the Israeli right is not responsible for the fact that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not yet solved. No, the Israeli right is not necessarily wrong in rejecting solutions that aim to dismantle all settlements and sever Israel’s ties to Judea and Samaria. No, Israel’s right is not the only faction whose bank of ideas is empty and whose only viable option is to more or less stick to the status quo.

But it is guilty of juvenile behavior. Passing a law to air its frustration with a complicated situation is juvenile behavior. After forty years in power, the coalition could be expected to be more mature. After forty years in power, it would be fair to argue that the time for juvenile behavior has passed.