UK and France Criticized for Attempting to Dictate Israeli Settlement Policy

Despite the end of the British Mandate and Israel's establishment as a sovereign state, some in London reportedly still believe they have the right to dictate where Israelis can build in their homeland. The author draws a parallel to 1939, when Britain issued the White Paper, severely restricting Jewish immigration and land purchases in Mandatory Palestine during the rise of the Holocaust. Nearly 90 years later, the article argues, Britain and France, former colonial powers, are exhibiting a patronizing attitude by attempting to influence Israeli settlement policy in Judea and Samaria.

The piece highlights the irony of Britain retaining 14 overseas territories, such as the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar, and France holding territories like French Guiana and New Caledonia, while lecturing Israel on its actions in the "heartland of our ancestors." The author suggests that European nations struggling with rising antisemitism and Islamist extremism should exercise humility before offering moral guidance to the Jewish state.

In response to these perceived external pressures, the article advocates for an acceleration of construction and expansion of settlements in Judea and Samaria, moving towards applying Israeli sovereignty, and crucially, canceling the Oslo Accords. It references Gideon Sa'ar's principle that actions against Israel should be met with Israeli action, urging the current government to adopt this as policy.