Govt says West Bank settlements ‘not illegal’
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration declared on Monday that the United States does not consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank a violation of international law, reversing four decades of US policy and removing what has been an important barrier to annexation of Palestinian territory.
The announcement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was the latest political gift from the Trump administration to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed in two elections this year to push for the annexation of the West Bank. His chief opponent, Benny Gantz, has until tonight to gather a majority in Israel’s Parliament or he will relinquish his chance to form a new government, raising the prospect of a third round of elections.
The United States has in the past described the settlements as illegitimate, and Palestinians have demanded the land for a future state, a goal that has been backed by the United Nations, European governments and US allies across the Middle East.
Monday’s decision reversed a 1978 legal opinion by the State Department concluding that the settlements were inconsistent with international law. Mr Pompeo said that ruling “hasn’t advanced the cause of peace”.
“We’ve recognised the reality on the ground,” Mr Pompeo told reporters at the State Department.
The settlements have been a main sticking point in peace negotiations that have failed to find a solution for generations as they are home to Israelis in territory that Palestinians have fought to control.
Mr Netanyahu praised the decision and said it reflected “historical truth — that the Jewish people are not foreign colonialists in Judea and Samaria,” a term for the West Bank. He said Israeli courts were better suited to decide the legality of the settlements, “not biased international forums that pay no attention to history or facts.”
Palestinian officials, by now used to unwelcome policy shifts from Mr Trump, nonetheless summoned new outrage.
“We cannot express horror and shock because this is a pattern, but that doesn’t make it any less horrific,” said Hanan Ashrawi, a veteran Palestine Liberation Organisation official. “It sends a clear signal that they have total disregard for international law and the requirements of peace.”
Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said the Trump administration’s decision was the latest of “unceasing attempts to replace international law with the ‘law of the jungle’”.