US says Israeli settlements are no longer illegal

[Kroll]

The US has shifted its position on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, no longer viewing them as inconsistent with international law.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the status of the West Bank was for Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate.

Israel immediately welcomed the move - a reversal of the US position under Mr Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.

Settlements are communities established by Israel on land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.

They have long been a source of dispute between Israel and the international community, and the Palestinians, who swiftly condemned the move.

Senior official Saeb Ekrat said the US decision was "irresponsible", posing a threat to "global stability, security, and peace".

Israel's Public Security and Strategic Affairs Minister, Gilad Erdan called it "courageous."

What is the Jewish settlements controversy?

The issue of Jewish settlements is one of the most contentious between Israel and the Palestinians, who see them as an obstacle to peace.

About 600,000 Jews live in about 140 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

The Palestinians have long called for the removal of all settlements, arguing that their presence on land they claim for a future independent Palestinian state make it almost impossible to make such a state a reality.

What US position is Mr Pompeo overturning?

In 1978, the Carter administration concluded that the establishment of civilian settlements was inconsistent with international law, although in 1981 President Reagan disagreed with that conclusion, saying he didn't believe the settlements were inherently illegal.

For decades, the US described the settlements as "illegitimate", refraining from calling them "illegal" and sheltering Israel from condemnatory resolutions on the issue at the United Nations.

However one of the last acts of the Obama administration, at the end of 2016, was to refrain from usual US practice by not vetoing a UN resolution that urged an end to illegal Israeli settlements.

President Donald Trump's administration has displayed a much more tolerant attitude towards settlement activity than his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Mr Pompeo said the Trump administration had studied all sides of the debate and agreed with President Reagan, adding: "The establishment of Israeli civilians settlements in the West Bank is not per se in consistent with international law."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-50468025

 

[Markhor]

Land grabbing and violent colonisation is now considered perfectly legal as per the United States Government.

I wonder where those liberals who argued in 2016 that Trump would be harder on Israel are.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Israeli settlements in occupied territory are illegal. This is clear from international law and multiple United Nations resolutions. Once again, Mr. Trump is isolating the United States and undermining diplomacy by pandering to his extremist base. <a href="https://t.co/Vz5NNpKIVB">https://t.co/Vz5NNpKIVB</a></p>— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1196527568704458752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[SensiblePakFan]

2020 election will decide which way many conflicts will play out for decades to follow. We can only pray.

 

[Varun]

2020 election will decide which way many conflicts will play out for decades to follow. We can only pray.

Trump will win easy.

 

[Technics 1210]

Anyone who thinks that Zionists do not control the higher echelons of the American Government, should think again! The evidence is clear as daylight!

 

[cricketjoshila]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Israeli settlements in occupied territory are illegal. This is clear from international law and multiple United Nations resolutions. Once again, Mr. Trump is isolating the United States and undermining diplomacy by pandering to his extremist base. <a href="https://t.co/Vz5NNpKIVB">https://t.co/Vz5NNpKIVB</a></p>— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1196527568704458752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Remind me which are the powerful lobbies in the US?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Arabs were always barking up the wrong tree if they expected the US to ever adjudicate in their favour. This is a game of which side carries the bigger stick, and if you don't have a stick, then pleading for reason won't help. Better to quit whining and start chopping some trees.

 

[Kroll]

With Trump running around like a crazed maniac, it was always on the cards. Although, it holds a lot of power, the US is only one country and the rest of the international community still regards these settlements as illegal.

 

[Technics 1210]

With Trump running around like a crazed maniac, it was always on the cards. Although, it holds a lot of power, the US is only one country and the rest of the international community still regards these settlements as illegal.

Do you honestly believe the next US President will reverse Trump's decisions on all related to Israel?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Do you honestly believe the next US President will reverse Trump's decisions on all related to Israel?

This is like needing someone to look after your pet canary and deciding that maybe the cat could do the job.

If you expect a positive outcome you need a reality check.

 

[Kroll]

Do you honestly believe the next US President will reverse Trump's decisions on all related to Israel?

No, I never said that.

 

[Technics 1210]

This is like needing someone to look after your pet canary and deciding that maybe the cat could do the job.

If you expect a positive outcome you need a reality check.

???

My point was that these US Presidents tow the Zionists line. So despite calling Trump nuts etc, he did what every other President was asked, but he complied (the other's vetoed). Now any US President thinking or seeing to reverse Trump's decisions will be labelled anti-semitic, and AIPAC will have a field day!

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

???

My point was that these US Presidents tow the Zionists line. So despite calling Trump nuts etc, he did what every other President was asked, but he complied (the other's vetoed). Now any US President thinking or seeing to reverse Trump's decisions will be labelled anti-semitic, and AIPAC will have a field day!

I was agreeing with your point in a roundabout way. A US President will be biased in favour of Zionist policy because there is a very strong Zionist lobby in the US which demands it. Don't most of the settlers in Israel hail from the the US in the first place?

Hence the analogy of asking a cat to look after your canary. Or in simpler terms, asking a Supreme Court made up of Hindu judges to rebuild a mosque which was allegedly built on the birthplace of Ram. What do you realistically think the outcome was going to be?

 

[sweep_shot]

JERUSALEM: The United States faced stiff international and Palestinian criticism on Tuesday over its decision to no longer consider Israeli settlements illegal, while the Jewish state’s premier cheered on the “historic” move.

The United Nations and European Union stressed the decision would not change the reality that the settlements were illegal, while the Arab League condemned the unilateral move by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said he was “very moved” by the announcement.

Pompeo said that after legal consultation Washington had concluded the establishment of settlements was “not, per se, inconsistent with international law”, saying he trusted the Israeli courts to decide.

The decision puts the United States at odds with virtually the whole of the rest of the international community and breaks with UN Security Council resolutions declaring settlements to be illegal as they are built in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli courts, however, have declared most major settlements legal.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said the US decision did “not modify existing international law, nor its interpretation by the International Court of Justice and the UN Security Council”.

The EU reiterated it still considers all settlement activity illegal.

Netanyahu visited the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the West Bank south of Jerusalem on Tuesday.

“Here we are on a historic day with another tremendous achievement for the State of Israel,” he told settler leaders, according to a statement.

“The Trump administration has corrected an historic injustice and lined up with truth and justice.” More than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, alongside more than three million Palestinians.

Israel seized control of the territories, seen as pivotal parts of any future Palestinian state, in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Settlements are seen as one of the most difficult issues in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The announcement is the latest in a series of pro-Israeli moves by US President Donald Trump’s administration, including recognising the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Analysts say it will further embolden the settlement movement and may fend off potential legal moves against Israel. The Arab League called it an “extremely adverse development”.

The Palestinian Authority — which considers the US biased and has rejected the Trump administration as a mediator if peace talks are ever revived — called for an emergency meeting of the body.

The only two Arab states to have signed peace treaties with Israel — Egypt and Jordan — also sharply criticised the US policy shift, with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warning of “dangerous consequences”.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said they would take a series of measures to oppose it, including calling for a United Nations Security Council debate.

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1517684/us-faces-palestinian-international-criticism-over-settlement-move.

 

[AdamM97]

Although AIPAC and the Israeli lobby have a large influence in US politics, the main reason for US support for Israel is because of geo-politics.

Egypt got its independence from UK in 1922, but it’s puppet Sultan still allowed the west to control the Suez Canal which benefits the UK massively. It wasn’t until Abdel Nasser, a socialist and a Soviet ally who toppled the puppet government through a military coup during the 1950s that the west started seeing Israel as a reliable western ally/proxy-state that would help the west preserve its military and commercial interests in the Middle East and North Africa.

Israel obviously doesn’t mind the west being biased but the US, UK and France actually favour Israel because of geo-strategic and commercial reasons.

This is why I believe that imperialism is still alive, most colonies only became independent on paper, the west still controls large portions of its former colonies. One great example is ”Francafrique” or France in Africa.

 

[Robert]

Anyone who thinks that Zionists do not control the higher echelons of the American Government, should think again! The evidence is clear as daylight!

I don’t believe in some rich guys conspiracy.

It’s more to do with the evangelical churches in the Bible Belt. One cannot become POTUS without their support, and they think Israelis are God’s chosen people because the Bible says so.

 

[Robert]

Although AIPAC and the Israeli lobby have a large influence in US politics, the main reason for US support for Israel is because of geo-politics.

Egypt got its independence from UK in 1922, but it’s puppet Sultan still allowed the west to control the Suez Canal which benefits the UK massively. It wasn’t until Abdel Nasser, a socialist and a Soviet ally who toppled the puppet government through a military coup during the 1950s that the west started seeing Israel as a reliable western ally/proxy-state that would help the west preserve its military and commercial interests in the Middle East and North Africa.

Israel obviously doesn’t mind the west being biased but the US, UK and France actually favour Israel because of geo-strategic and commercial reasons.

This is why I believe that imperialism is still alive, most colonies only became independent on paper, the west still controls large portions of its former colonies. One great example is ”Francafrique” or France in Africa.

Good post.

But Chinese neo-imperialism is spreading across Africa now too.

 

[Technics 1210]

I don’t believe in some rich guys conspiracy.

It’s more to do with the evangelical churches in the Bible Belt. One cannot become POTUS without their support, and they think Israelis are God’s chosen people because the Bible says so.

You mean Jews, and they also believe they are God's chosen people.

You are right, the Bible Belt is powerful, but I would say AIPAC is equally, if not more powerful. No POTUS gets elected without stating *Iran will not have the Bomb*.

 

[Robert]

You mean Jews, and they also believe they are God's chosen people.

You are right, the Bible Belt is powerful, but I would say AIPAC is equally, if not more powerful. No POTUS gets elected without stating *Iran will not have the Bomb*.

The Bible speaks of "the Children of Israel" i.e. the prophet Jacob. They were a federation of (twelve?) Iron Age semitic tribes.

AIPAC will be funded in part by the Bible Belt churches.

 

[AdamM97]

Good post.

But Chinese neo-imperialism is spreading across Africa now too.

Yeah, China’s neo-imperialism is mostly driven by the rise of China’s industries and its demand of cheap raw-materials. The same reason why the Europeans went out to colonize Africa in the 19th century.

The reason why most countries find China’s imperialism so appealing is because they give countries a ”win-win” offer. Take Pakistan for example: Pakistan gets military, economic and technological support in exchange for giving China access to the Indian Ocean.
The US, UK and France are still practicing a more authoritarian version of imperialism where they force smaller nations to give them what they want.

 

[AdamM97]

???

My point was that these US Presidents tow the Zionists line. So despite calling Trump nuts etc, he did what every other President was asked, but he complied (the other's vetoed). Now any US President thinking or seeing to reverse Trump's decisions will be labelled anti-semitic, and AIPAC will have a field day!

I don’t think that US presidents are towing the line. They wholeheartedly support Israel, getting a few extra bucks to do something you already believe in never hurts.

Christian Zionism is far bigger than Jewish Zionism. Here’s a good video of Noam Chomsky explaining the whole thing in great detail:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lUQ_0MubbcM

 

[Technics 1210]

There is no such thing as Christian Zionism. It's just Zionism, a nationalist movement of the Jewish people in support for a Jewish state.

Christians of the Bible Belt BLAME the Jews for the death of Jesus, this is why Anti-semitisim is rife in the Bible Belt. Why would the Bible Belt help the people who killed their messiah? They won't.

The USA is controlled by Zionists at the very highest level, these people control the banks, media, and politics. The House and Senate are littered with Zionists puppets, who are funded by Zionists (Donations, Lobbying, etc).

 

[Abdullah719]

Israel carries out ‘wide-scale strikes’ on Iranian forces in Syria

Spoiler

Israel says it has hit dozens of targets in Syria belonging to the government and allied Iranian forces.

The Israeli military says the "wide-scale strikes" responded to rockets fired by an Iranian unit into Israel.

Syria says two civilians died and that Syrian air defences shot down most of the missiles over Damascus. Other reports say the death toll was higher.

Local reports said loud explosions were heard in the capital. Pictures on social media showed a number of fires.

On Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said it had intercepted four rockets fired from Syria towards northern Israel. It said the rockets did not hit the ground.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011.

It has been trying to thwart what it calls Iran's "military entrenchment" there and block shipments of Iranian weapons to Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

But the latest operation was one of the broadest attacks to date, says the BBC's Barbara Plett Usher in Jerusalem.

A senior Israeli security official said the Israelis had decided on a powerful retaliatory strike to signal they were "changing the rules" - that even a small attack from Syria would trigger an extensive response, our correspondent reports.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50485521

 

[Technics 1210]

The Bible speaks of "the Children of Israel" i.e. the prophet Jacob. They were a federation of (twelve?) Iron Age semitic tribes.

AIPAC will be funded in part by the Bible Belt churches.

The Bible is clearing referring to the Hebrews, thus Jews.

However if I accept your notion, then will you accept that current Christians, Muslims, Atheists, whom live in Israel, are the chosen ones too?

 

[KingKhanWC]

I don’t believe in some rich guys conspiracy.

It’s more to do with the evangelical churches in the Bible Belt. One cannot become POTUS without their support, and they think Israelis are God’s chosen people because the Bible says so.

You're mixing up a few things here.

Obama was hated by Israel but won a second term, so you dont need the backing of such churches. Not suggesting Obama was anti-Israel but was pro-Israel just not pro enough for the Jewish Zionists.

Jewish Zionists and their supporters have the power. One example is Kissinger, he was never POTUS but has more power than any of them. Others such as Jared Kushner are the current leaders of Jewish Zionsim. They force the administration or pressure them into making policies.

In this instance Trump didn't want to attack Iran, mentioned the globalists, military industry complex and sacked Bolton. Now he is under threat of impeachment because of this. Trump has since backtracked and is doing what he is told hoping to survive.

As for settlements, it;s the opinion of the United States and Israel not International law. Pakistan doesn't recognise Israel as a legitimate state, a different opinion.

 

[MenInG]

Protests have taken place across the West Bank as Palestinians took part in a "day of rage" against last week's dramatic US policy shift on Israeli settlements.

By late afternoon on Tuesday, more than 60 Palestinians had received medical care as a consequence of the effects of tear gas and rubber bullets fired by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) according to the Red Crescent.

An IDF spokesperson told Sky News that Israeli soldiers responded "with riot dispersal means" to 1,000 or so protesters burning tyres and throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers at various locations within the West Bank and at checkpoints between the two sides.

The protests were organised by several Palestinian factions, including Fatah, the ruling political party in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority education ministry closed schools early to encourage students and enable parents to take part in the protests.

Organisers billed the protests as a peaceful "popular resistance" against Israeli occupation.

They repeated their longstanding call for the international community to step up its condemnation of Israel and to condemn the Trump administration's decision to declare that Israeli settlements within the West Bank do not contravene international law.

The International Criminal Court and the UN both consider Gaza and the West Bank to be territory illegally occupied by Israel.

Previous American administrations have explicitly stated that the building of Israeli settlements within the West Bank is illegal and should not happen.

The Trump administration's decision to fundamentally shift the US position is "facilitating Israeli crimes and aggression" against the Palestinians according to Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee member Wasel Abu Yusef.

Palestinians see both Gaza and the West Bank as key components of a future independent state under the now fledgling "two state" peace plan.

Thousands of people protested in major Palestinian cities including Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Jericho and Jenin.

Some burnt cardboard cutouts of US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

While the numbers were not as large as organisers might have hoped, senior officials say it marks the beginning of a "new era of rage" with more days of protest in the weeks ahead.

Top Fatah official Abbas Zaki said that Donald Trump had given the Israelis a green light "to destroy the two-state solution".

"Israel thinks it is capable of defeating our people by committing crimes against them. But our people will not be defeated," he said.

Palestinian anger was exacerbated by the death, in an Israeli jail, of a prominent Palestinian prisoner.

Sami Abu Diak, 35, was serving three life sentences for voluntary manslaughter and kidnapping.

He was suffering from cancer but his request to die at home with his family was rejected by Israel.

In a statement, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi from the PLO department of public diplomacy and policy, condemned Israel.

He said: "Sami is the newest victim of Israel's reprehensible policy of medical negligence against Palestinian prisoners, who also endure other forms of grave violations of human rights and war crimes at the hands of their Israeli captors, including torture.

"With his tragic death, Sami becomes the 222nd Palestinian prisoner to die in Israeli prisons."

https://news.sky.com/story/israeli-...-day-of-rage-against-us-policy-shift-11870970

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Which countries consider Israeli settlements to be a violation of international law? <a href="https://t.co/hmxmXQMwog">https://t.co/hmxmXQMwog</a> <a href="https://t.co/nNV0hmicK3">pic.twitter.com/nNV0hmicK3</a></p>— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) <a href="https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1283582222562406401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

It's true that the Palestinian lands are occupied by zionists, but it's truer that entire United States of America is just a front of the same said occupiers.