"We applaud the administration's decision to rescind the assertion that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law," B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel Mariaschin told JNS. "UN resolutions 242 and 338 laid the groundwork for a solution to the Middle East conflict in which the parties would negotiate directly with each other over land, rather than return to 1949 or 1967 boundaries that were neither secure nor mutually recognized. The false characterization of Israel's presence in parts of the West Bank as 'illegal' only prejudged the outcome of future negotiations and was an impediment to the peace process."

"After carefully studying all sides of the legal debate," Pompeo told reporters at the State Department on Monday, the United States has concluded that "the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, per se, inconsistent with international law."

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"Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law hasn't worked. It hasn't advanced the cause of peace," he said. "The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace."

He further noted that the ultimate status of these neighborhoods must be decided by Israelis and Palestinians.

Video: Reuters

Other groups, including the Zionist Organization of America and Christians United for Israel, applauded the announcement, while J Street and the Israel Policy Forum slammed it.

The ZOA lauded Pompeo for "rescinding the Orwellian, anti-Semitic lie that's Jews can't legally build in Judea Samaria, while Arabs can. There was never an Arab country called Palestine – no Palestinian Arab kings and queens," the organization's president, Mort Klein, told JNS.

He added that "Jewish communities there comprise less than 2 percent of all of Judea-Samaria. The fact that the Arabs have rejected statehood offers three times in the last 19 years proves the Arab war against Israel is not about 'settlements,' but a rejection of Israel's existence within any borders."

"CUFI did not agree with the Hansell Memorandum's conclusion, and we welcome its revocation," the organization told JNS. "Our policy of not taking a position on final-status issues remains unchanged."

AIPAC does not take a position on settlements. We believe settlements should be an issue for direct negotiations between the parties, not something determined by international bodies. The Palestinians must stop their boycott of US & Israeli officials and return to direct talks.

— AIPAC (@AIPAC) November 18, 2019

Republican Jewish Coalition executive director Matt Brooks tweeted, "@realDonaldTrump THANK YOU for your decision to reverse US policy regarding #Israel settlements. You are the MOST PRO ISRAEL PRESIDENT in history."

Sarah Stern, founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), told JNS that "what has stood at the very core of the problem of the lack of progress towards peace is the Palestinian reluctance to recognize any border, even the 1948 border, or the 1949 armistice lines, as legitimate and the failure on the part of the Palestinians to recognize the existence of a Jewish state, anywhere. That is why, to this very day, their textbooks show that all of Israel, even within the pre-1967 borders, is 'Palestine.' "

'Announcement gives carte blanche to settlement expansion'

Liberal Jewish and Israel-related groups panned the announcement by Pompeo.

J Street said it views the move as an obstacle to peace by the Trump administration, as well as a way to boost Netanyahu as his Likud Party has struggled to form a governing coalition following the second Israeli election this year.

"With their actions and rhetoric, the president and his advisers have given the Israeli government carte blanche to expand settlements, entrench occupation and move towards formal annexation of the West Bank," said J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami in a statement. "By discarding decades of bipartisan US policy and flagrantly disregarding international law, they are trampling on the rights of Palestinians and helping the Israeli right-wing to destroy Israel's future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people."

Jewish Democratic Council of America executive director Halie Soifer echoed J Street's reaction.

"@SecPompeo's reversal of decades of US policy is a green light for Israeli annexation of the West Bank, which will permanently impede prospects for a two-state solution. @realDonaldTrump doesn't understand what it means to be pro-Israel & Jewish voters reject his recklessness," she tweeted.

Finally, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee issued a neutral statement to the announcement.

"AIPAC does not take a position on settlements. We believe settlements should be an issue for direct negotiations between the parties, not something determined by international bodies. The Palestinians must stop their boycott of US & Israeli officials and return to direct talks," tweeted AIPAC.

The Israeli-Jewish Congress President Vladimir Sloutsker praised the White House for the announcement, describing it as a brave move. "The Israeli-Jewish Congress applauds the US administration for showing the moral clarity and having the courage to speak the basic truth, in recognizing the communities in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) are not illegal," he said. "We believe that recognition of this self-evident fact reflects the historical truth that the Jewish people have an undeniable and inextricable connection to this land, and that it is only by accepting this reality that peace between Israel and the Palestinians can be established."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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According to Netanyahu, Tehran's ambition is to obtain the capacity to launch a precision strike on any target in the Middle East.

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On Monday, Mnuchin pledged to increase economic sanctions against Iran. He says the administration's "maximum pressure campaign" is halting Iranian aggression.

Mnuchin met Monday in Jerusalem with Netanyahu, who called on Washington to impose additional sanctions to stop what he called Iran's "plunge for everything" in the Middle East.

At a joint press conference, Netanyahu said Iran's ability to project power in the region "is diminished to the extent that you can tighten your sanctions and make the availability of cash more difficult for them."

Mnuchin is heading a delegation to the Middle East and India to discuss economic ties and counterterrorism initiatives. He is joined by US President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was to meet with Netanyahu and his key rival, Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz.

Mnuchin says American sanctions aim to force Iran to stop "their bad activities and exporting terrorism, looking to create nuclear capabilities, and missiles."

Earlier Monday, the International Monetary Fund reported that Iran would need oil priced at $194.6 a barrel to balance its budget next year.

Hurt by tighter US sanctions, Iran – a key member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – is expected to have a fiscal deficit of 4.5% this year and 5.1% next year, the fund said in a report on Monday.

On Friday, international benchmark Brent crude closed trading at just above $62 a barrel.

Iran saw its oil revenues surge after a 2015 nuclear pact agreed with six major powers ended a sanctions regime imposed three years earlier over its disputed nuclear program.

Iran's economy is expected to shrink by 9.5% this year, compared to a prior estimate of a 6% contraction, the IMF has said, but real gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to be flat next year.

Parts of this article were originally published by i24NEWS

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In 2017, Garrison drew a cartoon of then-US National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and retired US Gen. David Petraeus on strings controlled by Jewish billionaire George Soros, who is dangled on strings controlled by a hand from a single arm labeled "Rothschilds," referring to the iconic Jewish philanthropic family from the United Kingdom that has been a common target of anti-Semitic conspiracies.

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"It is completely unacceptable that the Trump Administration would invite someone to the White House who has been known to write anti-Semitic cartoons," US House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told JNS.

Other members of Congressional leadership did not respond to a request for comment.

Nevertheless, Jewish and pro-Israel organizations criticized the White House invitation of Garrison.

"Hopefully, the president is not aware of the anti-Semitic quality of the [McMaster-Petraeus-Soros-Rothschild] cartoon so that he, when he gets aware, he should revoke the invitation immediately," Sarah Stern, founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East truth, told JNS on Sunday evening.

"#Anti-Semitism becomes normalized when obvious examples, like grossly #antiSemitic cartoons, are overlooked. Just as cartoons of this sort shouldn't be published anywhere, cartoonists who produce such hate shouldn't be invited to the White House. We call on WH to rescind invite," tweeted Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

#AntiSemitism becomes normalized when obvious examples, like grossly #antiSemitic cartoons, are overlooked. Just as cartoons of this sort shouldn't be published anywhere, cartoonists who produce such hate shouldn't be invited to the White House. We call on WH to rescind invite. https://t.co/ts8vnle3Tm

— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) 7 ביולי 2019

"We strongly condemn President Trump's invitation to anti-Semitic cartoonist Ben Garrison to the White House Social Media Summit later this week. Despite Garrison's record using social media to promulgate hate and disinformation, the White House has opened its doors to him, while reportedly excluding Twitter and Facebook representatives," Jewish Democratic Council of America executive director Halie Soifer told JNS. "This invitation demonstrates that the Trump administration condones Garrison's anti-Semitic imagery, as well as his use of social media to spread hate."

The Republican Jewish Coalition said: "We are very concerned by his past cartoons. We have an active conversation with the White House on this and are working with them on it."

Facebook and Twitter have reportedly not been invited to the summit.

The White House declined to comment on the record.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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