The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pompeo first top U. S. envoy to visit Israeli West Bank settlement
U. S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday became the first top American diplomat to visit an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank as the State Department announced that products from the settlements can be labeled “Made in Israel” in a policy shift.
The two moves reflected the Trump administration’s acceptance of Israeli settlements, which the Palestinians and most of the international community view as a violation of international law and an obstacle to peace.
A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Pompeo’s visit to the Psagot winery, in a settlement near Jerusalem, to reporters traveling with him but who were not allowed to accompany him on that leg of the visit.
Pompeo had earlier said he would visit the Golan Heights. Israel seized the West Bank and the Golan Heights in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed the Golan in a move not recognized internationally.
Pompeo had earlier announced the U. S. will regard the Palestinian- led boycott movement as “anti- Semitic” and cut off government support for any organizations taking part in it, a step that could deny funding to Palestinian and international human rights groups.
“We will regard the global, anti- Israel BDS campaign as anti- Semitic,” Pompeo said, referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
“We will immediately take steps to identify organizations that engage in hateful BDS conduct and withdraw U. S. government support for such groups,“he said, adding that all nations should “recognize the BDS movement for the cancer that it is.”
Pompeo did not provide additional details about the initiative, and it was unclear what organizations would be at risk of losing funding.
Israelis have accused international groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International of supporting BDS, allegations they deny.
Human Rights Watch, whose local director was deported from Israel last year for past statements allegedly in support of BDS, does not call for boycotting Israel but urges companies to avoid doing business in West Bank settlements, saying it makes them complicit in human rights abuses. Amnesty does not take a position on the boycott movement.