In an unprecedented move, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday visited an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and the Golan Heights in a huge show of solidarity towards Israel, which led to Palestinians accusing him of helping the Jewish state cement control over occupied territory.
Previous State Department chiefs have only visited the West Bank under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority, but never a settlement, because they held Israel’s presence there to be illegitimate. A majority of world powers also consider the settlements to be in violation of international law. However, last year, the Trump administration reversed a long-held US position and said it no longer viewed the structures as illegal. Similarly, President Donald Trump also officially recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights—which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 198— in a move that was once again not recognized by most of the international community.
In a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, Pompeo further stressed the US’ position on the matter, saying: “For a long time, the State Department took the wrong view of settlements. It took a view that didn’t recognize the history of this special place. And instead, now, today the United States Department of State stands strongly to the recognition that settlements can be done in a way that are lawful and appropriate, and proper. The simple recognition of this [the Golan] as part of Israel, too, was a decision President Trump made that is historically important and simply a recognition of reality.”
Pompeo also declared that the US would disregard the Palestinian-led BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement—which aims to pressure Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories—as “anti-Semitic” and withdraw government support for any organizations taking part in it. Though he did not provide any additional details, the announcement has raised concerns about various Palestinian and international human rights groups potentially losing funding over their criticism of Israel.
Additionally, Pompeo announced a new US policy of allowing products from the settlements to be labeled as “Made in Israel”, marking a stark deviation from Obama-era guidelines that warned against labelling settlement goods as “Made in Israel”, stating that it could lead to fines. At the time, it was seen as a diplomatic signal to Israel cautioning it against its settlements expansion plans. However, the Trump administration’s latest move points to American recognition of de facto Israeli annexation of much of the West Bank and seems to be a violation of the spirit of the “Abraham Accords” and the recent UAE-Israel peace treaty, under which Israel agreed to suspend its annexation plans.
The new guidelines, according to Pompeo, apply “most notably” to 60% of the West Bank, which is categorized as ‘Area C’ under the Oslo Accords and is under full Israeli military and civilian control. Goods from other parts of the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority maintains power, shall be marked as “West Bank” products, and those produced in Gaza will be labeled as such. Pompeo argued that the territories were “politically and administratively separate and should be treated accordingly”, and that the US would therefore no longer accept “West Bank/Gaza” markings. After the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Accords were signed in 1995, goods produced in the settlements were required to be labelled accordingly. However, Pompeo said the new guidelines would ensure the country of origin markings for Israeli and Palestinian goods were consistent with Washington’s “reality-based foreign policy approach”, and that the producers “operate within the economic and administrative framework of Israel and their goods should be treated accordingly.”
The Secretary’s trips and remarks have drawn severe criticism from Palestinian leaders, who called the US’ actions a provocation. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said: “Pompeo’s visit to occupied land is an active participation in the occupation,” given that the Trump administration’s plan would ultimately grant Israel sovereignty over nearly all settlements, in return for a heavily truncated Palestinian state. “Falsely labeling settlement products as ‘made in Israel’ means that Israel continues to benefit from its illegal and oppressive occupation of Palestine with complete impunity, thus giving the Israeli government no incentive to change its behavior, end the occupation and work toward peace,” said Mohammad Mustafa, economic adviser to Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.
Pompeo Visits Israeli Settlement in West Bank and Golan Heights
Palestinian leaders criticised the move as America's "active participation in the occupation".
November 20, 2020
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES