Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, November 19, 2019
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strictest terms the remarks made by the United States’ State Secretary, Mike Pompeo, on Israeli settlements, claiming that they are not in contrast with international law. PCHR reiterates that settlements are a war crime under international law and United Nations resolutions and emphasizes that US statements cannot and do not change that fact.
PCHR Director, Raji Sourani, commented on Pompeo’s remarks, saying:
“The US is not the world’s moral authority on justice, it is a State that acts with impunity and in defiance to international law and should be the last to address legitimacy as it acts by the law of the jungle. The US political position is clearly in support of Israel, a country that occupies Palestinian territory, and supports the latter’s actions and violations against Palestinian people.”
US State Secretary had stated on Monday that “The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law,” adding that “calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law hasn’t worked. It hasn’t advanced the cause of peace.”
This position by the US administration is in conflict with UN Security Council Resolution (UNSC) No. 2334 (2016), which passed with US abstinence, and reaffirmed in its first article that “… the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.”
This resolution came in line with a series of similar UNSC resolutions 446 (1979), 452 (1979), 465 (1980), 476 (1980), 478 (1980), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003) and 1850 (2008)…