Shift on settlements creates space for political resolution, Mike Pompeo says
The U.S. Secretary of State also spoke about the protests in Iran and said that the administration is taking "the opposite" approach compared to the Obama administration.
By OMRI NAHMIASSecretary Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed his latest announcement about the legality of the settlements on Wednesday, and said he is confident that the administration was right about that decision.“President Trump made clear we were going to recognize facts on the ground, the reality of the situation,” he said in an interview on The Ben Shapiro Show.“In this case, the State Department’s previous view had been that settlements were illegal under international law, and we now have taken another look at that issue and have concluded that the settlements themselves are not per se illegal. The Israeli courts are quite capable of making determinations about particular settlements, but it’s our conclusion – and we’re confident that we’re right – that the settlements themselves are not per se illegal under international law,” he added.Pompeo stressed that this move was important also in the perspective of reaching an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.“We know that the resolution of the conflict that is there between Israel and the Palestinians is going to be a political resolution,” he continued. “We want to create the maximum space for that political resolution. And so, our legal conclusion we think facilitates an increased likelihood that we can ultimately see a political resolution between Israel and the Palestinian people.”The Secretary of State also spoke about the protests in Iran and said that the administration is taking “the opposite” approach compared to the Obama administration.“Back in 2009, there were some protests as well, a significant level,” Pompeo said. “And the Obama administration refused to so much as put out a statement in support of those protesters. President Trump and our team have done just the opposite. We’ve made clear that we side with the Iranian people and not with the regime’s behavior. And so that’s, I think, a fundamental switch.”The official highlighted that the US are also making sure to exercise economic pressure on Iran.“It is also the case that we are not fueling those regime thugs by providing them resources, while the previous administration put $150 million in an airplane and sent it across to the Iranians,” he added. “We have done everything we can to deny the regime the resources they need to foment this bad behavior and their imperialist tendencies all around the region. Whether that’s in Beirut or Baghdad or in Damascus, they are indeed the malign influence in the Middle East that is causing so much instability and risk to our friends in Israel as well.”Pompeo added that the US approach also aims to deny to regime “to punish their own citizens” and “to put their citizens at risk by underwriting Hezbollah and Shia militias in Iraq.”
