US House speaker slams Biden administration for restoring policy against Israeli settlements
US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson blasts the Biden administration’s decision to restore a policy that considers settlements inconsistent with international law after it had been altered by the previous administration.
“The Jewish people have a historic and legal right to live in the land of Israel including in Judea and Samaria – the Biblical heartland,” the Republican speaker writes on X.
“It is an absolute disgrace the Biden administration would issue this decision, especially as Israel fights terrorists on multiple fronts that seek Israel’s destruction and as more than 130 hostages remain in Gaza,” he continues. “The Biden Administration must stop undermining Israel and facilitating efforts to delegitimize Israel. It is misguided and unconscionable.”
Speaking about the decision on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recalled that the policy had been in place under Republican and Democratic administrations alike until it was overturned by former president Donald Trump’s secretary of state Mike Pompeo in 2019.
Ambassador David Friedman is absolutely correct. This is a shameful decision.
The Jewish people have a historic and legal right to live in the land of Israel including in Judea and Samaria – the biblical heartland. It is an absolute disgrace the Biden administration would… https://t.co/ZfqO17WIQT— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) February 23, 2024
“It’s been longstanding US policy under Republican and Democratic administrations alike that new settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace,” Blinken said on Friday.
“They’re also inconsistent with international law,” he continued, effectively revoking what became known as the “Pompeo doctrine,” which deemed settlements “not per se inconsistent with international law.”
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
