Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

This week, Alpher discusses the settlement construction restrictions that Netanyahu just imposed upon his government in deference to the Trump peace effort; the lack of substance in the self-imposed restrictions; whether Netanyahu is pulling the wool over Trump’s and Greenblatt’s eyes; the likelihood that Trump and Greenblatt will soon put a peace proposal on the table; and changing US military and diplomatic behavior in the Arab world.

It's been a good couple weeks for supporters of West Bank settlements. On March 22, it was reported that new construction in settlements had risen by 40% in 2016. The next day, the U.S. Senate confirmed David Friedman – a staunch supporter of settlements – as U.S. ambassador to Israel.

It didn't end there.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that a new settlement would be established – in the heart of the West Bank – for evacuees from the illegal settlement outpost of Amona. In effect, Netanyahu rewarded them for breaking Israeli law, which outlaws these outposts, by breaking international law under which all settlements are illegal.

The “Entry Law,” adopted by the Israeli Knesset on March 6, 2017, bans entry to Israel of foreign national who support or publicly engage in boycotts of either Israel or West Bank settlements, whether they do it individually or are affiliated with organizations that endorse such practices. This law uniquely affects APN, a Zionist, pro-Israel organization that advocates for boycotts of the settlements and the occupation while strongly rejecting boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) targeting Israel.

APN's President and CEO Debra DeLee said: “This new draconian law is a severe blow to Israeli democracy. It is aimed at a basic civil liberty, the freedom of expression, and will severely harm Israel by keeping out some of its greatest supporters, including Americans for Peace Now…We are a Zionist, pro-Israel organization, which cares about Israel's future as a democracy and a Jewish state. As such, we oppose the occupation and the settlements and call on our supporters to express this view by boycotting settlements. It would be absurd for the government of Israel to block us from visiting the country we love and care so much about because we chose to express a legitimate view in a legitimate way.”

BBC: March 31, 2017
“Israel Approves First New West Bank Settlement in 20 years,” Peace Now reports that in addition to the plans to build a new settlement outside Shilo, Israel approved tenders to build 1,992 new homes in at least four other existing settlements.

Times of Israel: March 31, 2017
“Palestinians, UN Chief Rap New Settlement for Amona Evacuees,” Peace Now warns that the announcement of an entirely new settlement fragments the West Bank and the possibility of a future Palestinian state.

WBT: March 31, 2017
“Israeli PM Limits Settlements While Announcing New One,” Peace Now’s Lior Amihai writes that in building a new settlement, the Israeli government is only trying to appease its right-wing settler minority.

Washington Post: March 29, 2017
"Is Israel losing it's soul?," Richard Cohen's op-ed quotes APN Board member, Letty Cottin Pogrebin's piece in Haaretz about the entry ban.

News from Peace Now:

Americans for Peace Now (APN) joins its Israeli sister organization Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) in condemning the Israeli government's decision to establish a new settlement in the West Bank, to publish tenders for some 2,000 new homes in West Bank settlements and to take measures that would allow for the retroactive legalization of three outposts built illegally, without initial government approval, in the West Bank.

APN also joins Peace Now's condemnation of the Israeli Cabinet's new policy of so-called "restraint," which in practice would allow it to continue with its unhindered expansion anywhere in the West Bank, including settlements adjacent to the Green Line ("settlement blocs"), more distant settlements, and East Jerusalem.  

Trump the peacemaker? Peace Now activist ponders the possibility