Israeli settlements are no longer illegal: US
Policy shift: Netanyahu hails move, Palestinians say it endorses ‘law of the jungle’
BOX: Declaration rejects UN resolution
The US declaration marks the rejection of a 2016 UN Security Council resolution that settlements on the West Bank are a “flagrant violation” of international law and the US legal position on the issue since 1978
It is also a renunciation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which outlaws transfers of population by an occupying power, and a new rift with US allies in Europe and in the Islamic world
6,00,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967
Washington/Jerusalem, Nov 19
In a major policy shift, the Trump administration has said that it no longer believes the Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal, asserting that the previous opinion that such structures were inconsistent with international law has not helped the peace process in the Middle East.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the announcement on Monday, drawing praise from Israelis and condemnation from the Palestinians.
“After carefully studying all sides of the legal debate”, the US “believes the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law”, he said. “Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law hasn’t worked. It hasn’t advanced the cause of peace,” Pompeo said, referring to the stalled peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
According to the BBC, nearly 6,00,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. The settlements are widely considered illegal under international law. The Palestinians have long called for the removal of all settlements.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the decision, saying “the US 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 (a term for the West Bank) are inherently illegal under international law”. The US decision was the latest of “unceasing attempts to replace international law with the ‘law of the jungle’”, Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, was quoted as saying by the New York Times.
Explaining the reasons behind the decision, Pompeo said the US recognises – as have Israeli courts – the legal conclusions relating to individual settlements must depend on an assessment of specific facts and circumstances on the ground. Therefore, the US government is expressing no view on the legal status of any individual settlement, he said. “The Trump administration is reversing the Obama administration’s approach towards Israeli settlements,” Pompeo said.
According to Pompeo, US public statements on settlement activities in the West Bank have been inconsistent over decades. In 1978, the (Jimmy) Carter administration categorically concluded that Israel’s establishment of civilian settlements was inconsistent with international law. However, in 1981, President Ronald Reagan disagreed with that conclusion and stated that he did not believe that the settlements were inherently illegal.
Subsequent administrations recognised that the unrestrained settlement activity could be an obstacle to peace, but they wisely and prudently recognised that dwelling on legal positions did not advance peace, he said. However, in December 2016, at the very end of the previous administration, the then Obama administration changed decades of this careful, bipartisan approach by publicly reaffirming the supposed illegality of settlements, Pompeo said.
“After carefully studying all sides of the legal debate, this administration agrees with President Reagan,” he added. “We are not addressing or prejudging the ultimate status of the West Bank. This is for the Israelis and the Palestinians to negotiate. International law does not compel a particular outcome, nor create any legal obstacle to a negotiated resolution,” Pompeo said.
He said the hard truth was there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace. This is a complex political problem that can only be solved by negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, he observed. PTI
