VATICAN CITY: The Vatican spoke out on Wednesday against the United States’decision to no longer consider Israeli settlements illegal, joining stiffinternational criticism of the policy reversal.
Without naming the US, the Holy See said in a statement that “recentdecisions … risk undermining further the Israeli-Palestinian peaceprocess and the already fragile regional stability.”
“The Holy See reiterates its position of a two-state solution for twopeoples, as the only way to reach a complete solution to this age-oldconflict,” the Vatican said.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the Israelisettlements were “not, per se, inconsistent with international law,”breaking with UN Security Council resolutions declaring the settlements tobe illegal as they are built on occupied Palestinian land.
The policy shift puts the US at odds with virtually the whole of the restof the international community, and criticism came on Tuesday from theEuropean Union, the United Nations and the Arab League.
Courts in Israel have declared most major settlements legal.
More than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in east Jerusalem and theWest Bank, alongside more than three million Palestinians. The settlementsremain one of the thorniest issues in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinianconflict.
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The Holy See said it supported Israel’s right to live in peace and securitywithin the borders that are recognised by the international community, andsupported “the same right that belongs to the Palestinian people, whichmust be recognised, respected and implemented.”
Israel has welcomed the US decision, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahusaying he was “very moved” by Pompeo’s announcement.
US President Donald Trump’s administration had “corrected an historicinjustice and lined up with truth and justice,” Netanyahu said.
Pope Francis, who arrived on Wednesday in Thailand ahead of a visit toJapan, has not himself directly addressed the issue. – APP/AFP
