J Street welcomes a vital letter sent by 106 members of Congress to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today stating “strong disagreement with the State Department’s decision to reverse decades of bipartisan US policy on Israeli settlements” which had declared them “inconsistent with international law.”
The signers, led by Congressman Andy Levin (D-MI), include twelve committee chairs and the chairs of the Asian Pacific American, Black, Hispanic and Progressive caucuses. They warn that the administration’s decision “has severely damaged prospects for peace” and that it “blatantly disregards Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention” regarding the rules governing the actions of an occupying power.
J Street strongly supports the leadership shown by these representatives, who are standing up to defend principled, diplomacy-first American global leadership and to push back against the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine international law, US interests, Israel’s future and Palestinian rights.