Survey on the US Administration’s Decision to Recognise Israel’s West Bank Settlement Activity as Consistent with International Law
On Monday the 18th, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the US’ decision to recognise the Israeli presence in the West Bank as legal. Mike Pompeo announced that the Israeli settlement building activity was not inconsistent with international law, highlighting an ulterior rapprochement between American and Israeli views on the geopolitics of the Middle East. The decision which, it can be argued, constitutes another gift by the Trump administration to struggling Benjamin Netanyahu, has polarised many. Netanyahu asserted that Trump ‘fixed a historic wrong’ by reversing a longstanding US policy on the Israeli settlements, whereas others argue that the recognition of the West Bank settlements as legal could foster tension and jeopardise security and peace in the region.
