United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces legitimacy of Israeli settlements in the West Bank; The Trump administration views these settlements as ‘legal’; Pompeo: The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law.
Citing former President Ronald Reagan in support of the Trump administration’s recent decision to label the West Bank Israeli settlements as legal, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated, “After carefully studying all sides of the legal debate, this administration agrees with President Reagan…The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law.” Pompeo is not wrong, and neither was Reagan, because God gave the land to Abraham and his descendants over 4,000 years ago.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave high praise to this announcement, stating, “The United States adopted an important policy that rights a historical wrong when the Trump administration clearly rejected the false claim that Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria are inherently illegal under international law.” Additionally, he added, “This policy reflects a historical truth – that the Jewish people are not foreign colonialists in Judea and Samaria. In fact, we are called Jews because we are the people of Judea.”
For at least the last year, Trump administration officials are reported to have been meeting with international law experts prior to making this decision. US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman claimed that this decision will also further the process of Israeli-Palestinian peace. Netanyahu followed suit, but emphasized that peace will not come at the cost of delegitimatizing Israel’s right to the land, stating, “Israel remains ready and willing to conduct peace negotiations with the Palestinians regarding all final status issues in an effort to achieve a durable peace but will continue to reject all arguments regarding the illegality of the settlements.”
