United Nations Security Council at world headquarters in New York

By Gary Raynaldo   /  DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

UNITED  NATIONS  –  NEW YORK –  UN Security Council members Wednesday sternly rebuked the U.S. announcement that it no longer considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be a violation of international law.  The Security Council debated the Israeli settlements issue at its monthly Mideast meeting that came two days after the U.S. announcement.  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday that the Trump administration is reversing its stance on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. 

“Israeli settlement activities are a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution.”

-Nickolay E. Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process 

Upholding #UN resolutions and international law is just as important as preventing escalation and #war in #Gaza and paving the way for negotiations. https://t.co/4azDJt9i8r pic.twitter.com/Ic6raHTlQl

— Nickolay E. MLADENOV (@nmladenov) November 20, 2019

Mladenov told the Security Council that regardless of any national policy declarations, Israeli settlement activities are “a flagrant violation under international law”.   Regretting the United States’ announcement on Monday that it “no longer views settlements as inconsistent with international law”,  Mladenov told the 15-member Security Council that “the UN position remains unchanged”.  The UN Special Envoy added:

“Unilateral moves fuel anger and disillusionment and significantly undermine the prospects for establishing a contiguous and viable Palestinian State with Jerusalem as the future capital of both States”.

What’s Behind Washington’s Unsettling West Bank Announcement?

By announcing that Israeli settlements do not violate international law, the Trump administration continues a pattern of policy shifts that further weakens the prospects for Palestinian statehood, writes Philip H. Gordon, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Expert.  

“For decades, U.S. administrations have avoided calling Israeli settlements in the West Bank “illegal”—the position of much of the rest of the world—but they never formally repudiated a 1978 legal opinion that such settlements are inconsistent with international law. Until now, the United States had signaled its opposition to settlement activity, calling it “illegitimate” or an “obstacle to peace.” By announcing the view that settlements are not necessarily inconsistent with international law, the Donald J. Trump administration is signaling a reduction in opposition to Israeli settlement expansion. What’s odd is that the administration didn’t provide a legal explanation of its decision or clarify why it disagrees with the traditional interpretation of the Fourth Geneva Convention’s ban on settlements by occupying powers. In that sense, the announcement is much more a political statement than a genuine interpretation of international law.”

-Philip H. Gordon, Council on Foreign Relations