US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent a firm letter of rebuttal on Monday to Democratic members of Congress, blasting as "foolish" their criticism of his declaration regarding the legality of Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria.
Pompeo was responding to Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.), who was behind a letter sent to the secretary of state last month, in which 106 representatives denounced the Trump administration for softening its position on the legality of the settlements. In the November letter, House Democrats said the move made peace between Israel and the Palestinians more difficult to achieve and urged Pompeo to "immediately" reverse his decision.
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Pompeo took aim at Levin's arguments that the administration's announcement contradicts decades of bipartisan US policy and "blatantly disregards Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention."
"While I appreciate your interest in this important issue, I couldn't disagree more with those two foolish positions," Pompeo wrote in his answer to Levin.
"The State Department's determination did not reverse any policy with regard to Israeli settlements," he added. "Rather, the State Department reversed a legal determination by [former US Secretary of State John] Kerry made during the waning days of the Obama administration, that the establishment of settlements was categorically inconsistent with international law.
"That determination was made in a failed attempt to justify the Obama administration's betrayal of Israel in allowing UNSCR 2334 – whose foundation was the purported illegality of the settlements and which referred to them as 'a flagrant violation of international law' – to pass the Security Council on December 23, 2016," Pompeo's letter stated.
According to Pompeo, Kerry's decision lacked bipartisan consensus and actually garnered bipartisan condemnation.
"While you are free to fixate on settlements as a barrier to peace, you are simply wrong in referring to that view as being subject to bipartisan agreement," the secretary of state wrote.
Regarding Article 49 of the Geneva Convention, Pompeo said that the administration "has thoroughly reviewed and analyzed this issue and we respectfully disagree."
Pompeo added that the Trump administration was committed to advancing a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.
"We approach the issue pragmatically and diplomatically," he wrote. "But we eschew the erroneous positions of international law that have gained favor in the past decades. … The State Department's recent determination that the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se illegal is an important step in the peace process, and we are confident that it creates the right platform for further progress."
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said that he supports Pompeo's letter, telling Israel Hayom on Monday that "Secretary Pompeo rightfully noted that his decision to say the settlements aren't illegal was completely consistent with the longstanding American line and American policy. I believe this decision of his restores the US to its proper position as a fair mediator between the sides."
