Updated November 19
SAN DIEGO — The Trump administration has reversed former President Barack Obama’s antagonistic policy toward Israeli settlements in the area known by some as the West Bank and to others as Judea and Samaria.
At a news conference at the State Department on Monday, Nov. 18, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo laid out the new position, which immediately was applauded by such groups as Christians United for Israel and the Republican Jewish Coalition, and condemned by Americans for Peace Now and the American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee.
Pompeo, according to a transcript released by the State Department, said this to the media:
“The Trump administration is reversing the Obama administration’s approach towards Israeli settlements.
“U.S. public statements on settlement activities in the West Bank have been inconsistent over decades. In 1978, the Carter administration categorically concluded that Israel’s establishment of civilian settlements was inconsistent with international law. However, in 1981, President Reagan disagreed with that conclusion and stated that he didn’t believe that the settlements were inherently illegal.
“Subsequent administrations recognized that unrestrained settlement activity could be an obstacle to peace, but they wisely and prudently recognized that dwelling on legal positions didn’t advance peace. However, in December 2016, at the very end of the previous administration, Secretary Kerry changed decades of this careful, bipartisan approach by publicly reaffirming the supposed illegality of settlements.
“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.
“I want to emphasize several important considerations.
“First, look, we recognize that – as Israeli courts have – the legal conclusions relating to individual settlements must depend on an assessment of specific facts and circumstances on the ground. Therefore, the United States Government is expressing no view on the legal status of any individual settlement.
“The Israeli legal system affords an opportunity to challenge settlement activity and assess humanitarian considerations connected to it. Israeli courts have confirmed the legality of certain settlement activities and has concluded that others cannot be legally sustained.
“Second, 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.
“Third, the conclusion that we will no longer recognize Israeli settlements as per se inconsistent with international law is based on the unique facts, history, and circumstances presented by the establishment of civilian settlements in the West Bank. Our decision today does not prejudice or decide legal conclusions regarding situations in any other parts of the world.
“And finally – finally – calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law hasn’t worked. It hasn’t advanced the cause of peace.
“The hard truth is 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.
“The United States remains deeply committed to helping facilitate peace, and I will do everything I can to help this cause. The United States encourages the Israelis and the Palestinians to resolve the status of Israeli settlements in the West Bank in any final status negotiations.
“And further, we encourage both sides to find a solution that promotes, protects the security and welfare of Palestinians and Israelis alike.”
Reactions were not long in coming. Following in alphabetical order are some of the reactions sent by email to the offices of San Diego Jewish World:
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee: Moments ago Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the Trump Administration will no longer view Israeli settlements as against international law. This is another step taken by the Trump Administration to thwart and bury the idea of a peace process, and further solidifying Israel as an apartheid state. This administration’s complete disregard for international law, and over four decades of American policy, undermines and delegitimizes the U.S. on the global stage – the international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal.
ADC is committed to a just and lasting peace in the region, and any peaceful resolution of the conflict requires the cessation of expansion and dismantlement of all settlements; an end to the collective punishment imposed on the Palestinian population as a result of Israeli occupation policies; an end to the siege of Gaza; the exercise of the democratic rights of Palestinians in electing their government; the creation of a viable and independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the upholding of the right of return of the Palestinian refugees under international law.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly states that “The occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own population into the territories it occupies.” Israel has been illegally settling on Palestinian land since 1948 with impunity, and encouragement from the U.S. With his remarks today Secretary Pompeo did not address whether or not Israel violated international law, instead he indicated that international law is meaningless – which is a mark of an authoritarian regime.
The Trump Administration has given a green light to Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government to continue the annexation of Palestinian land. These actions are extreme positions that undermine any possibility of peace. These actions continue to legitimize violence and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. This will only lead to the furtherance of an Israeli apartheid state where Palestinians are treated as second class citizens.
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Americans for Peace Now –Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today announced the Trump administration’s latest assault on prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace. In renouncing a 1978 letter by the State Department’s legal advisor and stating that “settlements are not per se illegal under international law,” the Trump administration is giving a green light to further settlement expansion and even to formal Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
Already, the effective endorsement of settlements by Trump’s “peace” team (including by former Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt who has referred to settlements as “neighborhoods and cities”) has led to a surge in settlement activity, as documented by APN’s Israeli sister-organization Peace Now.
Americans for Peace Now opposes Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as the chief physical obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace. Most settlements will have to be removed as part of a final peace agreement. The more settlements expand and proliferate, the more difficult it will become to negotiate the establishment of a Palestinian state and to evacuate settlements whose existence is incompatible with a two-state solution.
Pompeo made the farcical claim that his announcement would increase the likelihood of a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is ignoring the fact that the one-sided moves of the Trump administration to date have alienated the Palestinians from the US completely and moved Israelis and Palestinians further from a negotiated peace than they have been at any time since the 1991 Madrid conference initiated by President George H. W. Bush.
This latest announcement by the Trump administration will do further damage to prospects for peace, particularly if it is taken by right-wing Israeli politicians as yet another indication that President Trump will accept Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank. This damages US national interests which, as successive US administrations of both parties have held, will be served by a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Meanwhile, in bucking the international legal consensus on the status of settlements in territory occupied by Israel, the Trump administration is deepening America’s isolation. It is also chipping away at the international legal order the US helped established, which has served US interests since the end of World War II.
We join Israel’s Peace Now, which wrote in response to Pompeo’s announcement, “No statement will change the fact that the settlements were constructed on occupied territory, in violation of international law, and are an obstacle to peace.” Indeed, we welcome Secretary Pompeo to join a Peace Now settlement tour to witness firsthand the pernicious role settlements play in undermining prospects for peace.
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American Jewish Committee –Reacting to the statement by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO David Harris said:
“The revised U.S. position announced today by Secretary Pompeo relates to a question of international law, which has been repeatedly used as a weapon against Israel on the world stage. We hope the policy shift will prompt a long overdue correction in international perceptions. At the same time, we trust it will not serve as a predicate for increased settlement activity beyond the established blocs widely expected to be recognized as part of Israel in any conceivable two-state compromise.
“The Secretary’s statement that ‘this is a complex political problem that can only be solved by negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians’ has long been AJC’s position regarding the status of the Palestinian territories and of Israeli settlements. In that regard, we continue to look to the U.S. to play a facilitating role in the quest for resumed negotiations.”
*American Jewish Congress — “The American Jewish Congress greets yesterday’s historic announcement by the Trump Administration on the legality of settlements as a step in the direction of moving both sides towards a meaningful resolution. We reject the concept that policy changes that benefit Israel are zero-sum and will harm the stalled non-existent peace process.
“The status quo is unacceptable. The nearly forty-year-old policy recognizing settlements as illegal has not brought Israelis or Palestinians closer to lasting peace. The history of the peace process informs us that some settlements will be in Israel and some in Palestine. Both parties must be prepared to engage in direct, bilateral negotiations. We believe the United States can play an important role in facilitating the talks, but ultimately both parties must dictate the terms of peace.
“This action by the Trump Administration will create pressure on the Palestinians to return to the table and negotiate. As such, this decision in no way prejudges the eventual resolution and the final status of settlements with the Palestinian territories – leaving the two-state solution on the table. ”
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Christians United for Israel — On Monday, Pastor John Hagee, the founder and Chairman of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), expressed support for the Trump administration’s revocation of the Hansell Memorandum:
“I want to express my profound appreciation to President Donald Trump for his bold and courageous support of Israel and the Jewish people. Thank you Secretary Pompeo for revoking the Hansell opinion of 1978 that held civilian settlements in Israel were not legal under international law. CUFI has opposed the Hansell opinion, as it pre-judged the outcome of any future discussions between Israel and the Palestinians; as such, we welcome its revocation.
“America’s new position concerning Israel is a 180-degree reversal of the Obama administration’s position on the settlements. If the U.S. is to be a loyal and true friend to Israel, we cannot seek to impose our will upon the Jewish state. We must honor the Jewish state’s sovereign right to make decisions on matters of war and peace, free of international interference.
“The revocation of the Hansell memorandum is the latest in the Trump administration’s consistent and considerable support for our ally Israel: from standing with Israel in her efforts to combat terrorists, to recognizing the fact that Jerusalem is the eternal and undivided capital of Israel, to moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. We are grateful to President Trump for treating Israel like an ally and respecting the will of the Israeli people as expressed by their elected government.
“God bless you Mr. President, and God bless you Secretary of State Pompeo. Thank you for this historic decision.”
With more than 7 million members, Christians United for Israel is the largest pro-Israel organization in the United States and one of the leading Christian grassroots movements in the world. CUFI spans all fifty states and reaches millions with its educational message.
Republican Jewish Coalition –The Republican Jewish Coalition today responded to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement regarding US policy on Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, commonly called the West Bank. RJC National Chairman Senator Norm Coleman said:
“We applaud the Trump Administration’s very pro-Israel policy announced today. This is a historic decision by the Trump Administration, one that recognizes the facts on the ground and the necessity of a negotiated peace between the parties to the conflict.
“After long and careful review, the US Government has concluded that Israeli civilian settlements are not inherently illegal under international law. It has long been clear that labeling the settlements as illegal has ostracized Israel and has not moved negotiations forward.
“President Trump has demonstrated once again by his actions that he is willing to bring fresh thinking to the most difficult problems. This policy move is in line with American support for a negotiated peace that will guarantee the security of both Israelis and Palestinians.”
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com