Criticism of Trump Regime's Illegal Recognition of Israeli Settlements

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Trump regime recognition of illegal Israeli settlements as legal brought swift international criticism.

PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh denounced the move, saying the Trump regime "lost its credibility to play any future role in the peace process."

What was long ago lost can't be re-lost. The US under both right wings of its war party never was a honest broker on issues relating to Israel/Palestine, one-sidedly supporting the Jewish state, partnering in its high crimes against peace.

"Reality on the ground" Pompeo cited Monday ignored illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.

Longstanding US policy for decades affirmed the illegality of Israeli settlement in accordance to UN resolutions and other international law.

Even Obama called them "illegitimate." John Kerry noted that "the proliferation of settlement outposts…are illegal under Israel's own laws." 

Joint (Arab) List leader Ayman Odeh slammed Pompeo's announcement, tweeting:

"No foreign minister will change the fact that the settlements were built on occupied land where an independent Palestinian state should one day stand beside the State of Israel."

PLO member Hanan Ashrawi tweeted: "Another blow to international law, justice & peace by a Biblical absolutist waiting for the "rapture."

"Although @SecPompeo's announcement is not unexpected, it is no less outrageous & horrific. Such irresponsible messianic fundamentalist policies are a threat to humanity as a whole!"

"Trump administration is a threat to international peace and security."

Separately by press release, Ashrawi said Pompeo's announcement "has no legal validity."

"The US neither has the right to rewrite international law and deface the rules-based international order based on its perverse ideological leanings."

"Israeli settlements are a grave violation of international law, including international humanitarian law."

"They also constitute a war crime according to the Rome Statute. These are solid facts that (Trump regime hardliners) cannot alter or unravel."

The US "partner(s) in Israeli crimes and provides cover for its pervasive violations."

"The Palestinian leadership will continue to pursue justice and redress through all available legal and political means."

Peace Now slammed Pompeo's announcement, saying:

"This is a direct assault on the two-state solution and a deliberate choice to pave the way for more aggressive settlement actions by the caretaker Netanyahu government toward the annexation of occupied territories and to solidify a permanent, undemocratic one-state reality," adding:

The Trump regime "appears determined to remove the possibility for borders based on the pre-1967 lines plus minor land swaps by countenancing unilateral Israeli land grabs at the cost of a viable Palestinian state down the road."

"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."

Jewish Voice for Peace acting co-executive director rabbi Alissa Wise called Pompeo's Monday announcement "the latest atrocity in the Trump (regime's) farcical peace plan."

Progressive Jewish-American group IfNotNow co-founder Emily Mayer said:

"Trump and his representatives are working in lockstep with the Israeli right, who have for decades disregarded the principles of international law to advance their illegal project of settling the West Bank and dispossessing the Palestinian people."

Pro-Israel J Street head Jeremy Ben-Ami called Pompeo's announcement "the latest in a long series of actions by the Trump administration designed to aid the Israeli settlement movement, prevent a two-state solution and provide political gifts to" Netanyahu.

Even pro-Israel Bernie Sanders slammed Pompeo's announcement as a violation of international law.

Tulsi Gabbard earlier said "continued expansion of Israeli settlements undermines the path to peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Trump and hardliners infesting his regime wholeheartedly support Israel's apartheid control over millions of Palestinians, its ruthless persecution, denying an entire population their fundamental rights affirmed under international law. 

The Tel-Aviv-based Yesh Din Volunteers for Human Rights said the following about illegal Israeli settlements:

"Construction of Israeli settlements and unauthorized outposts in the OPT entailed theft of Palestinian land, on a massive scale, spanning hundreds of thousands of dunams," adding: 

"Israeli settlements and outposts are a major source for severe violations of the human rights of Palestinians living in the West Bank." 

"The harm is multi-dimensional and affects almost every fundamental human right and liberty recognized in human rights law – the rights to property, equality, an adequate standard of living, and freedom of movement."

Construction of illegal Israeli settlements and outposts began almost straightaway after the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza were unlawfully occupied in June 1967.

Over 100 outposts are not officially recognized by Israeli regimes but receive funding and other support.

All settlements and outposts are built on stolen Palestinian land. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said the following about unlawful Israeli occupation and settlements:

"Israel…den(ies) millions of Palestinian residents their fundamental human rights, preventing them from taking part in decisions affecting their fate." 

"The Occupation permeates every aspect of Palestinians' daily lives, violating almost every basic right: the right to life and bodily integrity, freedom of movement, employment, family life, housing, health, education, and human dignity. Palestinians living within the Occupied Territories increasingly see their rights sacrificed in favor of Jewish Israelis for the expansion of settlement-building projects."

Israel's suffocating matrix of militarized control over millions of Palestinians denies their fundamental rights under international law.

It's enforced by a US-supported regime of violence, intimidation, ethnic cleansing, state terror, and wars at Israel's discretion.

Its ruling authorities get away with mass murder and a whole lot more because the world community refuses to hold them accountable.

Governments failing to enforce the rule of law are complicit in high crimes and other wrongdoing.

VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

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