One thing is clear before, during and after the visit of President Barack Obama to the region: When it comes to the issue of Jewish settlements in Palestine, it is all a game.

A few weeks before the visit of the US president, Israelis were rushing to build as many housing units as possible because they were worried that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will agree to some kind of freeze. Israeli media was full of statements alluding to the ‘demand’ that Netanyahu has made not to be embarrassed during the Obama visit. The articles spoke about what happened a few years earlier when Vice President Joe Biden was welcomed with an announcement about new Jewish settlements in Jerusalem.

The media was also welcomed to film the dismantling of six outposts in the Ramallah area. Why the Ramallah area? Is it because the President is planning to visit the Palestinian town? For readers unfamiliar with these “outposts”, it is important to note that these outposts are housing units built on Palestinian lands not only in violation of international law — as all settlements are — but in violation of Israeli law. It is unclear how many outposts exist, but some reports note that there are as many as 100. Some of those have been destroyed, some have been legalized, and others were destroyed, but rebuilt again a few meters away from where the old ones existed.

The defacto freeze for a couple days coupled with the exhibitionist destruction of a few outposts is nothing more than a game. No need to look any further than the biographies of the new cabinet ministers and the deputy head of Knesset to realize that Israel has just voted in one of the most pro-settlement governments in its history. The third biggest party in government, the far-right Jewish Home — whose representatives will run the Ministry of Housing — ran on a platform that calls for the annexation of 60% of the West Bank to Israel.