Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushed back Monday against congressional Democrats who demanded that the Trump administration retract its declaration last month that it views Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria as legal under international law. In a letter..., the Secretary of State called Democrats’ positions against Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria “foolish”, Israel Hayom reported Monday night.
Last month, Pompeo announced that the State Department did not view Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria as being inherently illegal under international law, reversing the policy set down late in the Obama administration, mirroring the position adopted by the Carter administration four decades earlier.
Days later, 106 Democrats signed a letter written by Rep. Andy Levin condemning Pompeo’s declaration and demanding that the Trump administration reverse its position vis-à-vis Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.
The decision, the signees argued, undermined America’s “moral standing,” and cited Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, a clause which is often cited by those arguing that Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria are illegal under international law.
On Monday, Pompeo fired back, writing that the 106 Democrats who signed onto the letter held “foolish positions”, adding that viewing Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria as illegal was not a long-established, bipartisan position in the US as Levin’s letter had claimed.
“You criticize the State Department’s determination that the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not categorically inconsistent with international law – a decision which you contend reverses ‘decades of bipartisan US policy on Israeli settlements,’” wrote Pompeo.
“You further argue, in conclusory fashion, that this determination ‘blatantly disregards Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. While I appreciate your interest in this important issue, I could not disagree more with those two foolish positions.”
