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25-02-2024
WASHINGTON/ JERUSALEM: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday (Feb 24) that Israel’s plans of building new settlements in occupied West Bank were “inconsistent with international law”. He was speaking at a news conference in Buenos Aires. He said that the United States was “disappointed” after Israel’s announcement and that construction of new settlements was counterproductive to enduring peace in the region.
“They’re also inconsistent with international law. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion, and in our judgment this only weakens, doesn’t strengthen, Israel’s security,” Blinken said.
Blinken’s comment were also a signal that the US was returning to its longstanding policy, which was reversed by former US president Donald Trump.
In November 2019, Trump’s then secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced that Washington no longer viewed Israel’s settlements on West Bank land it captured in the 1967 Middle East war as “inconsistent with international law”, a reversal of four decades of US policy.
The Biden administration has maintained that expansion of Israeli settlements was counterproductive to lasting peace. However, Blinken’s comment was the first time a top official in the current administration said that expansion of settlements was inconsistent with international law.
Blinken’s statement has come a day after Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spoke of plans to greenlight 3300 homes to be built.
Most of the units under discussion are in West Bank areas east of Jerusalem, with others south of the Palestinian town of Bethlehem, Smotrich said on Thursday.
The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the Israeli settlement announcement, saying on social media that it undermined the chances of a two-state solution.
Most countries consider the settlements, which in many areas cut Palestinian communities off from each other, as a violation of international law. Israel however claims a biblical birthright to the land.
In a briefing with reporters, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the Biden administration was “simply reaffirming the fundamental conclusion” on the issue.
The administration has recently imposed sanctions on four Israeli men accused of being involved in settler violence.
Most countries regard the settlements, which in many areas cut Palestinian communities off from each other, as a violation of international law. Israel claims a biblical birthright to the land.
Palestinians and the international community view the transfer of any country’s civilians to occupied land as illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and UN Security Council resolutions. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
