Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed Secretary of State John Kerry that his government will be announcing, in a few days, more settlements simultaneously with the second release of Palestinian prisoners. This is in addition to the expansion of the settlements in Hebron. At least Netanyahu had the "courtesy" to inform the secretary about this transaction. Needless to say, Kerry’s reaction is not known. However, if this is going to be the process of exchange, then by the end of the ninth month that the United States has spelled out for the "negotiations," what remains of the Palestinian occupied territory will not be determined!
It is amazing how the United States insists on resuming "negotiations" when it knows that Israel does not acknowledge or recognize that it is an "occupying power." The transaction of releasing prisoners in return for creeping annexations through settlements should persuade the US that the two-states objective of Palestine-Israel could never be forthcoming at all. While the United States should have known this before, now it should be clearer beyond any reasonable doubt what the objectives of Israel are.
