Trump Admin Stands Against the World to Support Israeli Settlements.
Speaking from the State Department in Washington, Pompeo repudiated a 1978 State Department legal opinion that held that civilian settlements in the so-called occupied territories are “inconsistent with international law.” The Trump administration views the opinion, the basis for long-standing US opposition to expanding the settlements, as a distraction and believes any legal questions about the issue should be addressed by Israeli courts, Pompeo said.
“Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace,” Pompeo said. “The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace.” Pompeo said the US would not take a position on the legality of specific settlements, that the new policy would not extend beyond the West Bank and that it would not create a precedent for other territorial disputes
CBN News Chief Political Analyst David Brody appeared on Monday's edition of CBN News' Faith Nation. Brody said Monday's announcement rivals the US embassy move to Jerusalem. Faith Nation is seen weeknights on the CBN News Channel. For a programming schedule, click here.
The US is reversing course on a major policy position on Israel.
In a surprise announcement on Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US is softening its position on the Israelis settlement in the so-called West Bank - the region known in the Bible as Judea and Samaria.
Speaking from the State Department in Washington, Pompeo repudiated a 1978 State Department legal opinion that held that civilian settlements in the so-called occupied territories are "inconsistent with international law."
The Trump administration views the opinion, the basis for long-standing US opposition to expanding the settlements, as a distraction and believes any legal questions about the issue should be addressed by Israeli courts, Pompeo said.
"Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace," Pompeo said. "The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace."
Pompeo said the US would not take a position on the legality of specific settlements, that the new policy would not extend beyond the West Bank and that it would not create a precedent for other territorial disputes, he said.
He also said the decision did not mean the administration was prejudging the status of the West Bank in any eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2019/november/trump-admin-stands-against-the-world-to-support-israeli-settlements-jews-are-the-people-of-judea Trump Stands Up to UN with U-Turn on Settlements: 'Historic Day for Israel'
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the Trump administration is taking another bold step by reversing the Obama administration's policy on Israeli 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," Pompeo explained.
Israel's settlements in the so-called West Bank – which is actually the biblical region of Judea and Samaria – are really full-sized towns and small cities, some with tens of thousands of residents. https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2019/november/trump-stands-up-to-un-with-u-turn-on-settlements-historic-day-for-israel
