There is a question that should trouble anyone who believes that Israel, Palestine and Lebanon can have a peaceful future:

What happens when people are driven from their homes—and the world begins to accept the new reality created in their absence?

This is not an abstract question.

It is a question being asked in the West Bank. It is a question being asked in southern Lebanon. And, ultimately, it is a question about what kind of Middle East we want to leave to the next generation.

I am not writing this as an argument against Israel, against Judaism, or against the security of Israeli civilians. I am writing because I believe that security cannot be separated from justice, and that peace cannot be built by making displacement permanent.

The West Bank: when settlement becomes state policy

The role of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich deserves serious scrutiny.

In June 2026, Israel’s government advanced a proposal for approximately one billion shekels—around $340 million—to support settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. Reuters reported that the initiative was driven by Smotrich, one of the Israeli government’s most prominent advocates of settlement expansion. The proposed funding included infrastructure such as roads, sewage systems and temporary housing. (Reuters)

That was not an isolated development.

In June, plans for 2,162 additional housing units in three West Bank settlements advanced through the planning process. Smotrich described the construction as strengthening Israel’s hold over the territory. (The Times of Israel)

And in April, the Sa-Nur settlement in the northern West Bank was reestablished. The Times of Israel reported that 126 housing units were subsequently approved there. Smotrich participated in the ceremony celebrating its return and described it as a “historic correction.” (The Times of Israel)

These facts should lead to an uncomfortable question:

If one side is continually expanding its physical presence while the other side is being displaced or restricted, what happens to the possibility of peace?

A map can change quietly.

A house becomes a neighborhood.

A neighborhood becomes a settlement.

And eventually, what was once described as temporary becomes politically “irreversible.”

That is how conflicts become permanent.

Southern Lebanon: destruction cannot become destiny

Southern Lebanon has endured years of conflict and, more recently, extensive destruction and........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)