US warns on travel to Jerusalem after settlements reversal

Mike Pompeo / Photo: Yara Nardi, Reuters, Reuters
Mike Pompeo / Photo: Yara Nardi, Reuters, Reuters

Following the statement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the administration does not consider Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank illegal, the US Embassy in Israel has called on US citizens to be vigilant.

The US Embassy in Israel has published a warning against travel to Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, following the announcement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday that the US was softening its stance towards Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).

Pompeo stated that the current US administration was revising the determination by its predecessor that Israeli settlement activity in the disputed territories constituted a breach of international law, and was reverting to the stance of the Reagan administration that such activity was not in itself inconsistent with international law. The determination by the Obama administration opened the way to a UN Security Council resolution denouncing Israeli settlements in the West Bank as a "flagrant violation" of international law.

Speaking at a press conference at the State Department in Washington yesterday, Pompeo said, "The legal conclusions relating to individual settlements must depend on an assessment of specific facts and circumstances on the ground. Therefore, the United States Government is expressing no view on the legal status of any individual settlement.

"We are not addressing or prejudging the ultimate status of the West Bank. This is for the Israelis and the Palestinians to negotiate," Pompeo said, adding, "Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law hasn’t worked. It hasn’t advanced the cause of peace.

"The hard truth is there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace. This is a complex political problem that can only be solved by negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians."

Outgoing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Pompeo's statement, calling it "historic", and a recognition that Judea and Samaria were part of the historical Jewish homeland. The US change of attitude drew a reaffirmation by the European Union, however, that it viewed settlement activity as illegal. In a statement to Fox News, Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini said, "The European Union's position on Israeli settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territory is clear and remains unchanged: all settlement activity is illegal under international law and it erodes the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace."

A spokesman for Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, said, "The US administration has lost its credibility to play any future role in the peace process." The Palestinian Authority expressed similar dismay when the US transferred its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem last year, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, in a move similarly opposed to the international consensus.

The US travel warning calls on US citizens "in or considering travel to or through Jerusalem, the West Bank, or Gaza to maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness in light of the current environment.

"Individuals and groups opposed to the secretary of state’s recent announcement may target US government facilities, US private interests and US citizens. Potential targets include public events, such as demonstrations, holiday events, and celebratory gatherings; hotels, clubs, and restaurants popular with US citizens; places of worship; schools; shopping malls and markets; tourism infrastructure; public transportation and airports,"

US administration employees are forbidden to visit anywhere in the West Bank, including Jericho and Bethlehem, the Old City of Jerusalem and its environs, and to travel on sections of roads 1, 443, and 90 that pass through the West Bank.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 19, 2019

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019

Mike Pompeo / Photo: Yara Nardi, Reuters, Reuters
Mike Pompeo / Photo: Yara Nardi, Reuters, Reuters
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