The State of Qatar expressed last Tuesday its rejection of the US declaration that considered the establishment of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank inconsistent with international law.
The statement termed the step taken by the US administration “as an obstacle to the desired peace”. A week ago the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that his country abandoned the position that settlements in Israeli-occupied territory were “inconsistent with international law”, abandoning a stand taken by the administration of the President Jimmy Carter in 1978.
The announcement triggered strong rejections from countries all over the world, including wider Arab and Muslim countries condemned the statement warning of its negative impact on peace and stability in the region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar said the “declaration would hinder the efforts of peace as well as hopes for a two-state solution, and deepen tensions in the region”.
The statement reiterated “Qatar’s firm stance in supporting the Palestinian cause and the steadfastness of the brotherly Palestinian people derived from the resolutions of international legitimacy and the twostate solution in a way that ensures the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital”.
The US decision not only boosts Israel’s position and gives green-light to Israelis to take further steps towards annexation of Palestinian territory but also discourages the parties from engaging in a series peace process. The reason that made the previous US administrations to oppose settlement construction was the fact that it was an obstacle to peace.
The leader of the Israel’s right-wing Netanyahu is getting endless support from the US administration through its envoy in Israel David Friedman who is known for his absolute support to Israelis aggressions and occupational practices. The current US administration support to the Israeli rightwing started with cuts in US aid to Palestinians government and closing its office in Washington, and then extended to recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017, moving the US embassy to the city in 2018.
In March 2019, President Trump recognised Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, which occupied by Israel in 1967. During the recent election, Netanyahu has made election promises to annex parts of the West Bank, and what has been announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is to show him as fulfilling his promise and help him to stay in office in order to avoid prosecution for cases related to corruption. The US announcement is simply demolishing UN Security Council Resolution 242, which is the foundation of half a century of Arab-Israeli negotiations and basis of all agreement made between the Palestinian and Israel, and peace treaties made with Egypt and Jordan. Such stance should come from a body responsible of making the international law not from the administration set to serve for a certain term in office.
