As of Friday evening, 107 Democrats in the US House of Representatives signed a petition calling on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to reverse the decision to legalize Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The petition comes four days after Pompeo announced at a news conference that his country no longer considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be contrary to international law, while his remarks have drawn international and Arab condemnation.
The lawmakers signed a strong rejection of the State Department's decision, which has been backtracking on what the United States has been working since 1978, considering Israeli settlements in the West Bank inconsistent with international law.
The petition pointed out that this decision, in addition to the previous decisions of the Trump administration, undermined the credibility of the United States as an honest broker between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and severely damaged the peace process, and endangered the security of America, Israel and the Palestinian people.
The petition showed that the Pompeo Declaration on settlements makes the two-state solution unworkable, threatening Israel's future as a safe and democratic homeland for the Jewish people.
Fourth Geneva Convention
Lawmakers affirmed that the State Department's decision blatantly ignores Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that any occupying power should not deport or transfer parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies.
Therefore, according to the petition, the resolution sends the message that the administration's respect for human rights and international law no longer exists, so we can only expect in the 21st century that it will be the most chaotic and brutal for Americans and our allies, including the Israeli people.
According to Israeli and Palestinian estimates, there are about 650,000 settlers in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, living in 164 settlements and 116 outposts.