US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated on Wednesday that Washington's backing for Jewish communities in Judea and Samari will advance Israeli-Palestinian peace.
In a reversal of four decades of US policy, Pompeo in November announced that the United States no longer viewed Israel's settlements as "inconsistent with international law." He further told Israel Hayom that the new policy would advance peace.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Speaking by video link at a Jerusalem policy forum dubbed "The Pompeo Doctrine," Pompeo, in a pre-recorded statement, said the administration of US President Donald Trump returned to a "balanced and sober" approach to Middle East peace by changing its position.
"It's important that we speak the truth when the facts lead us to it. And we are recognizing that these settlements don't inherently violate international law," Pompeo said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Trump administration's backing was a "proper answer to the decision by the International Criminal Court in the Hague to investigate Israel's actions in Judea and Samaria."
Last month, the ICC's chief prosecutor said she would like to get permission to launch a full investigation as soon as the Hague-based body's jurisdiction had been established.
"The 'Pompeo doctrine' regarding the status of the settlements simply states that we are not foreigners in our homeland," Netanyahu told the conference, hosted by the Kohelet Policy Forum, a Jerusalem think-tank.
The conference sought to build upon the new US stance by laying out legal arguments in defense of Israel's settlements and debating critics' defense.
