Since Oslo, negotiations have begun alongside illegal settlement expansion, turning diplomacy into a process that manages rather than ends the occupation.
Published on 24 April 2026
In the early 2000s, I was part of the Palestinian team supposedly negotiating an end to Israel’s military occupation and colonization of Palestinian lands. The idea was as distorted then as it is now: that those living under military rule would have to “negotiate” for their freedom and that landowners would have to “negotiate” for Israel to return their land.
At that time, we Palestinians were told by many heads of state – including those of the US and Europe – that there was no other way and that dialogue was the only way to achieve our freedom. Of course, this is not quite true, because virtually no state has achieved its freedom and independence by negotiating with its oppressors.
As negotiations took place, Israel used this opportunity to build and expand its illegal settlements, doubling the number of Israeli settlers within seven years of the Oslo talks. In other words, under the guise of “negotiations,” Israel stole more land. These same world leaders who pushed forward the negotiations, and those who succeeded, continue to feed us the (lie) that with successful negotiations all of Israel’s land theft will be undone.
Of course, despite the illegality of land theft being a cornerstone of international law, they made no Plan B. For its part, Israel continued to speak of a desire for “peace” and “negotiations” while annexing more Palestinian land.
Fast forward twenty-six years, and we still see the same tactics, because that’s how Israel was created in the first place. Israel has long had as its goal, since the beginning of the Zionist project, the expansion of the territory under its control. This is why one can see that, with the 1947 partition plan, despite the claim that they “accepted” the partition (although it was not meant for anyone), Zionist attacks were not limited to the areas that were illegally “allocated” to the “Jewish State”, but their attacks were aimed externally. This is why Israel launched a “pre-emptive” (i.e., illegal) attack against Syria, Egypt, and Jordan in 1967 and continued to illegally occupy and colonize the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights in violation of international law and international decisions. But, in contrast to the flowery language of “peace” expressed by Israeli leaders in the 1990s and 2000s, today, Israeli leaders have been honest: They have made no secret that they intend to annex the occupied West Bank; Recolonize the Gaza Strip and take further land from Lebanon and Syria. And, under the guise of perpetual war, Israel has done just that. Israel has advanced deep into Lebanon and Gaza, including through “ceasefires.”
Over the past few years, Israel has not only normalized the bombings of hospitals, schools, first responders, journalists, and children, it has also normalized assassinations and – even more worryingly – genocide. And rather than confront Israel, these same world leaders have helped Israel shelter and maintain impunity for its worst international crimes. So it is not surprising that Israel continues to steal more land.
Yet, as we know, the foundation of the international legal system is that states cannot steal land – they cannot invade another’s territory. This basic rule exists for a reason: if states can steal land, it leads to more wars. With Israel infiltrating and denying independence to many countries, the question remains whether Israel operates above the system of law and order that was put in place after World War II or whether the rules, as we believe, do not apply at all. Lebanon has already fallen into the same trap that the Palestinians fell into in the 1990s, believing that negotiations were the only way to remove Israel from its land. At the end of these negotiations – if there is ever an end – Lebanon and Syria will be left with less land than before, because this pattern of “negotiating” for the return of land is a recipe for Israel to remain in power forever. The question is whether we will see a system that finally confronts Israel, which has made a mockery of the international legal system, or whether it will become the new status quo.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.
