Until the occupation and the settlement project end, tragedies like this on are inevitable. If there is to be any hope of preventing them, it has to start with people standing up to finally say “NO” to the settlements and to force their governments to do likewise.

Efforts to blur that distinction are just as dangerous to Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state as attacks on Israel’s legitimacy itself. It is entirely consistent with longstanding U.S. policy, and indeed necessary to preserve the ultimate goal of a two-state solution, to continue to preserve that distinction in U.S. policy and law.

Those who are interested in a better future for both Israel and the Palestinians can accomplish this by simultaneously boycotting settlements and supporting businesses in Israel that do not cross the Green Line into the West Bank.

The vitriol about BDS has limited opportunities for progress, and led to a zero-sum game barring compromise

By hiding protection of settlements in language that seems to be defending Israel, they are moving against a two-state solution. It’s important that this disingenuousness is exposed and people understand what they are really being asked to support.

Elliiott Abrams is responsible for some of the greatest foreign policy fiascos in American history, continues to be considered a legitimate source for foreign policy analysis. Here, I examine closely his recent apparent shift in position on settlements and find it’s no change at all.