There is a sense of collective sorrow and sympathy for the families of the three kidnapped and subsequently killed Israeli boys. This sentiment was encapsulated by US President Barack Obama when he said, “As a father, I cannot imagine the indescribable pain that the parents of these teenage boys are experiencing,” and urged “all parties to refrain from steps that could further destabilize the situation.”

For Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to propose a new settlement in the memory of the murdered teens underlines his determination to enforce a deliberately provocative policy, one which ignores the proliferation of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel is a conqueror, and since June 1967 has never acted as a responsible occupier.

Thus, while the international community and the UN consider settlements illegal, their continued proliferation is unmistakable proof that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy is working for a Greater Israel.

Ziad Abu Ein, a deputy minister for prisoner affairs, called the kidnapping “an Israeli story from the beginning,” adding, “Not even one Palestinian faction claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, so why do all the Palestinian people have to suffer?”