Secretary of State Pompeo strongly condemns: "Obama's move away from supporting Israel did not contribute to peace" • Ambassador Friedman to "Israel Today": "Consistent and Justified Statement"

• Mike Pompeo // Photo: Island. times

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent a scathing response to Democratic congressmen attacking his statement regarding Israeli settlement status in Judea and Samaria.

Pompeo responded to a call by more than a hundred Democratic congressmen urging him to withdraw from the message he issued a month ago, stating "the settlements are illegal." They argued that his statement changed a long-standing American policy, hampered the prospects of renewing the peace process and contradicted the Geneva Convention.

However, Pompeo rejects their claims outright. In a letter of reply to Congressman Mark Levine, Pompeo defines criticism as "stupid" and emphasizes that it was the one that restored American policy to the traditional approach, after the Obama administration deviated from what had been the practice for decades. Pompeo said that in order to legally legalize Security Council Resolution 2334, which seriously harmed Israel, Obama's Secretary of State, John Kerry, was the one who changed the policy when he announced that the settlements violated international law. "This was done to justify the Obama administration's failed attempt to betray Israel with resolution 2334," he said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lands in Israel ahead of meeting with Netanyahu // Photo: Ziv Sokolov - US Embassy in Jerusalem

The Secretary of State also explains that it was Obama's step that stopped the peace process and harmed the Palestinians: "The move away from the Obama administration by historic support for Israel has done nothing to promote peace."

He said Kerry's assertion that Israel was violating international law encouraged the Palestinians to apply to the International Court of Justice in The Hague - a move that, according to US law, required their closure of their representation in Washington.

Pompeo also rejects Levin's and his friends' contention that his statement goes against the two parties in Congress. He quoted senior Democratic leader Chuck Schumer as saying at the AIPAC 2018 conference that "it is not the settlements that are keeping the peace and it must be." Who stated in 1981 that "Israel has a legal right to establish settlements in the West Bank."

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman welcomed Pompeo's letter, telling Israel Today that "Secretary Pompeo rightly noted that his decision to say the settlements were illegal was entirely consistent with the U.S. line and longstanding American policy. I believe this decision puts the United States back in its proper position as a fair mediator between the parties. "