‘Orwellian absurdity’: US reversal on settlements draws international outrage
Mike Pompeo
Yumna Patel reports in Mondoweiss:
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday that the US was softening its position on Israel’s network of settlements in the occupied Palestinain territory, saying it was revoking the notion that settlements are illegal under international law — a notion recognized by the rest of the world as factual and true.
“The Trump administration is reversing the Obama administration’s approach to Israeli settlements,” Pompeo said in his opening remarks at a press conference in Washington, D.C.
…. ….
“The announcement marks a continuation of the Trump Administration’s efforts to undermine years of progress on refining parameters for an agreed-upon resolution of the core issues of the conflict,” Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said in a statement. The group called the announcement “an Orwellian absurdity,” saying “no declaration will change the fact that the settlements were built on occupied territory, in contravention of international law, and that they pose among the greatest obstacles to peace.”
The European Union released a statement immediately after Pompeo’s remarks, saying “all settlement activity is illegal under international law and it erodes the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace.” The statement went on to call on Israel to cease all settlement activity “in line with its obligations as an occupying power.”
PLO Executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi called the policy change “outrageous and horrific” in a statement, and reaffirmed the widely held position that settlements are a “grave violation of international law.”
See also condemnations:
From Palestinian leaders in Middle East Eye – https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/will-not-legalise-occupation-palestinian-leaders-dismiss-us-settlement-position and from the Palestinian Prime Minister in Middle East Monitor – https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191119-palestine-pm-slams-us-policy-shift-on-settlements/.
From Amnesty in Middle East monitor – https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191120-amnesty-israel-settlement-amounts-to-war-crimes/.
From the EU in Middle East Monitor – https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191120-eu-position-on-israel-settlements-remains-unchanged/.
From United Nations Human Rights in International Middle East Media Centre – https://imemc.org/article/unhr-israels-settlements-are-in-breach-of-international-law/.
And the relevant international law detailed in the Balfour Project website in ‘The status of West Bank settlements under international law’, http://www.balfourproject.org/.