U.S. softens position on Israeli settlements, weakening Palestinian statehood claims
Reversing decades of carefully worded U.S. policy, the Trump administration on Monday said that, in its view, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank do not violate international law.
For many years U.S. policy has been intentionally vague on the sensitive issue of settlements’ legal status. The clearest statement came under President Carter in a 1978 State Department legal opinion, which found settlements to be “inconsistent with international law.”President Reagan said in an interview that he disagreed with that view, but his administration held to a policy in favor of freezing settlements.
“The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, per se, inconsistent with international law,” Pompeo said.It was unclear exactly what actions the administration was taking and whether it was formally rescinding the 1978 opinion. Pompeo said the new U.S. position was intended to jump-start peace talks.
“This is not at all constructive for a legitimate peaceful solution,” said David Halperin, executive director of the Israel Policy Forum, a pro-Israel U.S. organization that advocates for a two-state solution. “Israeli settlements steal Palestinian land, seize and exploit Palestinian natural resources, and divide, displace and restrict the movement of the people of Palestine,” said Saeb Erekat, a veteran Palestinian official. “In sum, Israel’s colonial-settlement enterprise perpetuates the negation of the Palestinian right to self-determination.”
The announcement Monday is the latest step in which the Trump administration has sided with Israel against Palestinian and Arab claims. Trump also moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in 1967.
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