US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman reiterated on Wednesday that the Trump administration did not consider Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria as illegal per se, while also noting Israel's ancient ties to the land.
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"Judea and Samaria – the name Judea says it all – is territory that historically had an important Jewish presence," Friedman said at a conference in Jerusalem organized by the Kohelet Policy Forum, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Israel's sovereignty and strength as a Jewish democracy.
"As they say, it is the biblical heartland of Israel. It includes Hebron, where Abraham purchased a burial cave for his wife Sarah; Shiloh, where the tabernacle rested for 369 years before the Temple was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem; Beth El, where Jacob had his dream of the ladder ascending to heaven; Kasr al-Yahud, where Joshua led the Israelite nation into the Promised Land and John the Baptist baptized Jesus, and so many other famous locations.
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"After the Ottoman Empire fell, Judea and Samaria, along with the rest of what was then referred to as Palestine, became subject to a British Trust which was subject to the Balfour Declaration, the terms of the San Remo Conference, and the League of Nations Mandate. In simple terms, the British were obliged to facilitate settlement of the Jewish people in this land. That's not to say that Jewish settlement was exclusive, that no one else had the right to live there. But Jews certainly did," he stressed, noting that during the 1967 Six-Day War Israel "recovers Judea and Samaria from Jordan" after it had been under Jordanian occupation for 19 years, after "almost no one recognized its [Jordan's] rights to the territory."
Friedman then asked a rhetorical question: "So, intuitively, who has a good claim to the land? Israel, whose historical and legal rights were recognized by the League of Nations, Jordan, which was there for only 19 years with virtually no legitimacy, and which, in any event, renounced its claim to territory west of the Jordan River in 1995, or the Ottomans, who washed their hands of Palestine after World War I. The answer, with all due respect to all the scholars, seems obvious."
He lamented that because Israel had a legitimate claim to the land, "the goalposts started to move" and the 1949 armistice line between Israeli and Jordanian forces became "the inviolate 'Green Line,' the limit of Israel's territorial entitlement."
Friedman stressed that the Trump administration would continue to move away from the distorted situation that has been created over the years, which discriminated Israel, touting the 45th president's unprecedented decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, as well as other moves that have been regarded as major steps in correcting the historical bias against Israel.
"For 22 years I watched from a distance as this law on the books of America was simply ignored by Republican and Democratic presidents alike," referring to the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act that mandated the relocation of the US Embassy and ambassador's residence to Israel's capital.
"I thank God that President Trump had the courage and the wisdom to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move our embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. I was in the room among a handful of senior members of the Trump administration in 2017 when this issue was analyzed and debated. I won't say what went on in that room. But I will say that I will never forget that meeting, or the understanding, analysis and leadership that President Trump brought to the table."
He said that the Trump administration's decision to accept Israel's sovereignty claims on the strategic Golan Heights was the right move because of the regional upheaval and the unique threats facing the Jewish state.
"In 2018, we turned our attention to the Golan Heights. It was obscene to think that the Syrian regime, a regime that lost the Golan after attempting to annihilate Israel and which, since 1967, has led the world in barbarism against its own people and others, could even compete with Israel on a claim to title," he said. "The [president] understood this and recognized as well the strategic importance to Israel of the Golan. He acted quickly and decisively to recognize Israel's sovereignty," Friedman said, before adding that "in recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, President Trump, evaluating the continuous malign and barbarous threats posed by Syria, concluded that no northern boundary for Israel would be secure except a boundary that incorporated the Golan. He acted well within the language of [UN Security Council Resolution] 242."
He then moved on to focus on the latest US decision on Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, which discarded the previous administrations' legal interpretation on their status. It was announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo several weeks ago.
He noted that the Pompeo Doctrine, the unofficial name attached to this new policy that sees Israeli communities as "not inconsistent with international law," did not prejudice the ultimate peace deal between the two sides.
"The Pompeo Doctrine does not resolve the conflict over Judea and Samaria. But it does move the goalposts back onto the field. It does not obfuscate the very real issue that 2 million or more Palestinians reside in Judea and Samaria, and we all wish that they live in dignity, in peace, and with independence, pride and opportunity. We are committed to find a way to make that happen.
"The Pompeo Doctrine says clearly that Israelis have a right to live in Judea and Samaria. But it doesn't say the Palestinians don't. Rather, it calls for a practical negotiated resolution of the conflict that improves lives on both sides."
