If you build it, they will fight

摘要

ON FEBRUARY 6th Israel aimed a nasty blow at what remains of its peace process with the nearly 5m Palestinians who live in the territories it seized 50 years ago. Its coalition government, led by Binyamin Netanyahu, voted a bill through the Knesset which allows, in certain circumstances, for the legalisation of Jewish construction on privately owned Palestinian land. One effect could be that around 50 "outposts", scattered around the West Bank and illegal under Israeli law, will now be safe from the threat of demolition.