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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that his country no longer considers Israeli settlements “inconsistent with international law” in a shift in foreign policy.
The statement puts the United States in contradiction with the broader group of countries as well as UN Security Council resolutions, and comes at a time when Israeli centrist candidate Benny Gantz is seeking to form a government to succeed the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, an ally of US President Donald Trump.
“After carefully examining all aspects of the legal debate, this administration agrees … that the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank does not in itself contravene international law,” Pompeo said.”The establishment of Israeli settlements did not work inconsistent with international law. It has not made progress on the peace issue,” Pompeo said.
Until now, US policy has relied, at least in theory, on a 1978 State Department legal opinion that the establishment of settlements in the Palestinian territories contravenes international law.The Fourth Geneva Convention on the Laws of War considers the establishment of settlements as contrary to all international principles.
The United States often uses the veto to block UN Security Council resolutions against Israel, but in the last weeks of his term, former US President Barack Obama has angered Netanyahu by allowing UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which considers Israeli settlements a “flagrant violation” of international law.
Pompeo said that the United States rejects the approach adopted by the Obama administration, denying in return that the move is like giving the green light to Israel to build more settlements.
Certainly, the US move will be seen as support for Netanyahu, who is struggling to stay in power after failing to form a coalition government in the Zionist entity.
But Pompeo denied the motive, saying that “the timing of this is in no way linked to domestic politics in Israel or otherwise.”
