Israeli reports on Monday indicate that President Joe Biden’s administration is considering reinstating the international legal violation status for settlements in the West Bank.
This move would effectively reverse the actions taken by former President Donald Trump’s administration, which in 2019 annulled the “Hansell Memorandum.”
This document had been followed by the U.S. government for 40 years, deeming the settlements as contravening international law.
According to Kan, the Israeli public broadcaster, the reconsideration by the Biden administration to criminalize West Bank settlements stems from new Israeli intentions to resettle in the Gaza Strip, as reported by i24NEWS.
Following a 5-month conflict that resulted in approximately 30,000 Palestinian casualties and the injury and displacement of millions, two ministers in Netanyahu’s government have advocated for a more robust settlement policy in Gaza.
An American official told Kan, “The United States does not support an Israeli occupation of areas in Gaza or the establishment of new settlements in the strip.”
The U.S. State Department did not deny the report’s claims and stated to Kan that “the expansion of settlements harms the two-state solution, causes tension, and undermines trust between the parties.”
The Washington Post earlier reported a critical juncture in relations between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, with Biden and his aides no longer viewing Netanyahu as an effective partner.
This sentiment is based on testimonies from individuals familiar with internal discussions.
It was also reported that some of Biden’s aides are encouraging him to publicly criticize the Israeli Prime Minister for the military operations in Gaza.
In a recent public critique, possibly the most severe since the conflict’s onset, Biden emphasized that under current circumstances, the United States does not support Israeli military operations in Rafah, where approximately 1.3 million people are seeking refuge without a place to go.
