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On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a radical departure from long-standing, bipartisan American foreign policy: In defiance of the entire international community, the United States would no longer consider West Bank settlements illegal.
J Street was one of the first groups to condemn this destructive decision, which we called out for being clearly designed to hand a major political gift to Prime Minister Netanyahu and a boost to the settlement movement’s hopes of West Bank annexation. In just under 48 hours, we’ve seen a wave of presidential candidates, members of Congress, foreign policy experts and American Jewish organizations join us in denouncing this move by the administration and in affirming the illegality of the settlements.
While Trump, Pompeo and Ambassador Friedman work to shatter US credibility and exacerbate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it's important that so many American leaders are loudly and clearly pushing back.
Below, I’ve compiled some of these statements to show you just how broad the resistance has been to this move.
Here are some of the responses from presidential candidates:
- Vice President Joe Biden: “This decision harms the cause of diplomacy, takes us further away from the hope of a two-state solution, and will only further inflame tensions in the region. It’s not about peace or security. It is not about being pro-Israel. It is about undercutting Israel’s future in service of Trump’s personal politics.”
- Mayor Pete Buttigieg: “The Trump administration’s statement on West Bank settlements is not only a significant step backward in our efforts to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is the latest in a pattern of destructive decisions that harm our national interests.”
- Secretary Julián Castro: “These settlements are a clear violation of international law and push us further away from a two-state solution. This is a grave error that severely damages the prospects for peace, further isolates America, & undermines our moral leadership.”
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar: “The Trump administration’s announcement on Israeli settlements goes against long-standing U.S. policy. Once again Donald Trump is playing politics and taking us further away from a path to a two-state solution.”
- Sen. Bernie Sanders: “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.”
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren: “Another blatantly ideological attempt by the Trump administration to distract from its failures in the region. Not only do these settlements violate international law—they make peace harder to achieve. As president, I will reverse this policy and pursue a two state solution.”
We’ve also seen statements from numerous members of Congress, including this joint statement from Reps. David Price, Jan Schakowsky, John Yarmuth, Gerry Connolly, Barbara Lee, Peter Welch, Alan Lowenthal, Lloyd Doggett and Earl Blumenauer.
You can read our full roundup of statements here.
Thank you,
Dylan Williams
J Street Senior Vice President of Government Affairs
