Netanyahu: U.S. legalization of Israeli settlements will stand test of time
When pressed by the 'Post' if his next step was the application of sovereignty, the prime minister brushed off the question.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFNetanyahu meets with settler leaders in Gush Etzion after the US stated that settlements are not illegal on November 19, 2019.(photo credit: GPO/KOBI GIDEON)
The US declaration that settlements are not illegal is a historic moment that will stand the test of time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.“This is a very great day for the State of Israel and an achievement that will stand for generations,” Netanyahu said as he made a lighting quick visit to the community center in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank.“The Trump administration has corrected a historical injustice and lined up with truth and justice. I thank [US] President [Donald] Trump and [US] Secretary of State [Mike] Pompeo,” Netanyahu said as he sat at a folding table, looking out at the settler leaders who came to celebrate the moment with him.Just one day earlier, the US announced its decision to change its policy with regard to Israeli activity over the pre-1967 lines. America previously considered it as illegitimate, but now it will be considered to “not be inconsistent with international law.”Netanyahu compared the policy decision with two other significant decisions Trump has taken on behalf of Israel: relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.Gush Etzion Regional Council head Shlomo Ne’eman told Netanyahu that the US declaration was a “great step forward” for the application of sovereignty to Judea and Samaria.“I admit that I am very moved. We are here, in Gush Etzion, a place from which we were expelled during the War of Independence. Here we are on a historic day with another tremendous achievement for the State of Israel, for which we have worked greatly.But when pressed by The Jerusalem Post as to whether his next step will be the application of sovereignty, Netanyahu brushed off the question, noting that his next step will be to meet with settler leaders.Already on Monday night, outgoing European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini shot back at the Trump administration, declaring that “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, as reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 2334."The EU calls on Israel to end all settlement activity, in line with its obligations as an occupying power,” Mogherini said.The European Union and the United Nations have long held that all Israeli settlement activity is illegal. They have included in this all Israeli activity over the pre-1967 lines, including in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
