Think the Palestinians now regret not defending their land when they had the ability to do so? You know back in the early 20th century, there were Arab leaders and intellectuals saying: “They’re refugees from Europe. What harm could come of allowing them to live here among us?”
Israel will continue building illegal settlements in the West Bank in preparation for a “major” wave of Jewish immigration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Israel’s most recent settlement expansion triggered rebukes from its Arab neighbors and Western partners.
“Today, many of our brothers and sisters around the world understand: This is our land and it will remain ours,” Netanyahu said in Jerusalem on Tuesday. “And when I say our land, every Jewish man and every Jewish woman, the door is open. We are waiting for you. We are preparing the door for major Aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel).”
It is unclear whether the “major Aliyah” predicted by Netanyahu is actually coming. Israelis have emigrated in growing numbers since Hamas’ 2023 attack and the subsequent war on Gaza. More than 150,000 Israelis left the country from 2024 to 2025, according to a report by 972 magazine.
The Israeli prime minister spoke at an event organized by the Binyamin Regional Council, which governs 47 Jewish settlements in the West Bank. All of these settlements, which are located outside Israel’s 1967 borders, are considered illegal by the UN, and Israel’s transfer of population to them has been deemed a breach of the Geneva Convention by the International Criminal Court.
Although the Israeli state sometimes pre-authorizes the construction of settlements, they typically begin as outposts on Palestinian land, until they are retroactively legalized by the Israeli government. During his speech on Tuesday, Netanyahu boasted that his government has established and regularized “104 settlements and 160 farms and we continue to do more.”
The Israeli historian Martin van Creveld pointed out that immigration is war in his landmark essay of that name. It always has been. The Visigoths who sacked Rome were refugees seeking refuge from the Huns. The time known as The Movement of Peoples is also known as a period of relentless wars.
Pity on the perceived unfortunate often comes at a terrible price that is paid later in blood by the innocent and the undeserving.
I don’t think we’re going to see peace in the Middle East anytime soon. Especially now that the US security structure has failed and Syria no longer serves as a buffer state in between Israel and Turkey. Remember, the Turks have a long-standing claim on the West Bank too.