A worldwide chorus of condemnation continued Tuesday over the U.S. decision to no longer ofiicially consider Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank illegal.
Michael Lynk, U.N. Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory, said the decision was “not a step towards peace or justice in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
“The American government’s decision to jettison international law and to legitimise the illegal Israeli settlements is probably the very last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution,” said Lynk. “This would meet the international definition of apartheid.”
As Common Dreams reported Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo justified his announcement that the U.S. would no longer consider the settlements illegal with a claim that “calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) replied to the announcement Monday afternoon saying the move was the result of President Donald Trump “pandering to his extremist base.”
In a statement, Amnesty International USA advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Philippe Nassif said that Monday’s “announcement does not and will not change the law which is crystal clear: the construction and maintenance of settlements in the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, breaches international law and amounts to war crimes.”
“It does however place the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, at increased risk by giving Israel the green light to continue with its settlement building and expansion policy which sit at the heart of human rights crisis in the area,” added Nassif.
International outcry over the decision focused on the illegality of the settlements and the U.S. taking a firm stand in a conflict toward which the superpower claims to wish to solve.
A spokesman for the U.N.’s human rights office (OHCHR), according to Al-Jazeera, said that it “shares the U.N. long standing position on the issue that Israeli settlements are in breach of international law.”
Meanwhile, the foreign minister of Jordan, Ayman Safadi, warned that the move by the Trump administration will have “dangerous consequences” and a negative impact on an already struggling peace process.
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