From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Israel and US to extend scientific cooperation to West Bank, Golan Heights
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleThe US and Israel will expand their scientific cooperation agreement to include the West Bank and the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announces.
The pact will be updated and signed by Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman at a ceremony tomorrow in the northern West Bank city-settlement of Ariel.
The updated agreement represents the latest nod of legitimacy by the Trump administration to Israeli settlements, which much of the international community considers illegal.
Washington has avoided criticizing Israel for settlement expansion and in November 2019, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo softened his government’s official position on the matter. He repudiated a 1978 State Department legal opinion that held that civilian settlements in the occupied territories are “inconsistent with international law.”
— Jacob Magid
The Times of Israel Community.