Netanyahu hails US swerve
PM says shift over Israeli settlements fixes ‘historic wrong’
Israel’s Prime Minister has travelled to the West Bank to celebrate the United States’ announcement that it does not consider Israeli settlements violate international law.
Benjamin Netanyahu called the Trump Administration’s declaration, which stepped back from four decades of US policy, a “huge achievement” that “fixed a historic wrong”.
“I think it is a great day for the state of Israel and an achievement that will remain for decades,” he said.
Netanyahu spoke at a gathering of ecstatic supporters and settler leaders in Alon Shvut, a settlement outside of Jerusalem.
Israeli right-wing leaders welcomed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement. Although it is largely symbolic, it fuelled calls from settler supporters for increased construction or even the annexation of parts of the West Bank.
Later in the day, Netanyahu said the US decision “gives us a once-ina-lifetime opportunity” to annex the Jordan Valley, an area in the West Bank seen as the breadbasket of a Palestinian state. In a video, he called on his political rivals, with whom he is currently in coalition talks, to form a unity government and make annexing the area its first priority.
Netanyahu has previously vowed to annex the area, a move that would swallow up most of the West Bank territory sought by the Palestinians, leaving them with little more than isolated enclaves. Israel sees the territory as a security asset.
The Palestinians, who claim the West Bank as part of a future state, condemned the US decision.
They and other countries said the move undercuts any chances of a broader peace deal.
More than 400,000 settlers now live in the West Bank, in addition to more than 200,000 settlers in east Jerusalem, the Palestinian’s hopedfor capital.
The international community and the Palestinians say that settlements are illegal and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. Israel says the fate of the settlements should be determined in negotiations.
The head of the Arab League joined the large number of critics condemning the Trump Administration’s latest decision “in the strongest terms”. The league’s secretarygeneral, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said the decision would result in “more violence and cruelty” against the Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli settlers and “undermines any possibility” of achieving peace.
The White House says it has developed a Mideast peace plan, but it has not yet unveiled it. The Palestinians already have rejected the plan, accusing the US of unfair bias in favour of Israel.
The Trump Administration has made a number of moves in favour of Israel, recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, recognising Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights and shuttering the Palestinian diplomatic offices in Washington.
The White House’s move comes a week after the European Union’s top court said EU countries must identify produce made in Israeli settlements in the West bank on its labels, a ruling that was welcomed by rights groups but sparked anger in Israel.
The European Court of Justice said consumers could be misled when they shop and must be able to make “informed choices”. The EU is opposed to settlement expansion.
Israel says the labelling was unfair and discriminatory and said other countries involved in land disputes were not similarly sanctioned.
The US State Department said it was “deeply concerned” by the new EU requirement.