How does iraq where ever you. The United States says israeli settlements are no longer illegal reverses 4 decades of u. S. Policy it puts the Trump Administration odds with the International Community so why no reason this is inside story. Hello and welcome to the program im in wrong its a dramatic shift in u. S. Policy and goes against the position taken by International Organizations in most other countries the u. S. Says it no longer views the illegal israeli settlements in the occupied west bank as inconsistent with International Law the palestinians are furious and many observers say it makes Israeli Palestinian Peace Process even more elusive its the latest u. Turn on policy by the u. S. President in favor of israel trump recognized drew slim as israels capital a move the American Embassy there he also recognizes israels d annex a shell of the Golan Heights from syria lets head what secretary of state might pompei are. Calling the establish of civilian settlements inconsistent with International Law hasnt worked it hasnt invents the cause of peace the hard truth is there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict in arguments about who is right or wrong as a matter of International Law will not bring peace this is a complex political problem that can only be solved by negotiations between the israelis and the palestinians is ready Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision writes a historical wrong. This is this the people of israel this is a historic day and another great achievement to our policy after President Trump recognized jerusalem as the capital of israel recognized sovereignty over the Golan Heights the u. S. Administration has now put an end to the lie that siddle mintz are illegal palestinian chief negotiator barack that said the decision was a threat to Global Security and peace. Israeli settlements in the occupied palestinian territories including East Jerusalem and not only illegal under International Law they are war crimes and the statement of mr payoff the secretary of state of the United States is absolutely. Rejected and must be condemned. Because once superpowers once the term of mr bush and decide to undermine International Law once they become an administration thats pro israels occupation pro israel war crimes and this is constitute a major threat to International Peace and security and this is turning International Community from the rules of International Law the rules of solving conflict by peaceful means into the horrors of the jungle will bring in our guests shortly but 1st harry force that reports from western slope or Benjamin Netanyahu wasted no time in welcoming this announcement from the u. S. Administration saying it righted a historic wrong the palestinian leadership wasted no time in awfully rejecting it saying it was more evidence that the us had lost its legitimacy as an honest broker between the israelis and the palestinians in terms of what it changes on the ground in one sense potentially not that much it very much aligns with u. S. Policy on the tramp in terms of recognizing jerusalem moving the embassy here to jerusalem cutting palestinian aid in terms of settlement construction that has been going on a pace as well just last month those the announcement of 2300 new approvals for Housing Units in the occupied west bank that happens every few months and has been ever since Trump Took Office it does do a couple of things that allows the israelis to point to a divergence in International Opinion on the legality of a settlement activity inside the occupied west bank where previously that we know pretty blanket appraisal of that as illegal activity it also potentially emboldens netanyahu in the future if he wants to exert more Israeli Authority in the occupied west bank more israeli sovereignty he said before the last election that he intended. To annex the entirety of the Jordan Valley would be needed a mandate from the israeli people to do so to seek and get us approval for such a measure in terms of the motivations for it well obviously it helps trump politically especially with his evangelical base and it helps netanyahu at a very sensitive time here politically. That it wasnt designed the timing so to do but nonetheless Benny Gantz Netanyahu his main rival is running out of time to try to form a Coalition Government of his own this is a big victory for netanyahu domestically garance him self as approved of this statement and it allows netanyahu to drive a wedge between parents and the palestinian israeli politicians in the Israeli Parliament the knesset on whom he might have to rely if you wanted to make a minority government before his time runs out so whatever the motivation behind it netanyahu can certainly make big Political Capital out of it at a very important time ari force it for inside story west jerusalem israeli settlements have long been a very contentious issue there were established by israel on land occupied during the 6 day war in 1967 more than 600000 israelis currently live in settlements in the occupied west bank and occupied East Jerusalem theyre considered illegal under International Law as they violate the 4th Geneva Convention which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its population to the area that it occupied in 1978 u. S. President jimmy carter concluded that building israeli settlements was inconsistent with International Law almost 4 years later president Ronald Reagan disagreed and more recently president barack obama broke with the us practice by not vetoing a Un Resolution urging an end to illegal israeli settlements. I. For more on this im joined by our guests in tel aviv get in the v column mr horowitz news and author of the punishment of gaza on skype from harare richard fuld Professor Emeritus at Princeton University richards the former un special rapporteur for the occupied palestinian territories and in ramallah no doubt a political analyst and former spokesman for the palestinian task force on Public Diplomacy welcome to you all i want to start with richard fuld in harare what on earth are the white house doing making israeli policy surely thats the question. If there is no coherent persuasive answer it would seem that the timing of this shift on the settlement scheme as a way of helping mentioned yahoo in the overcome the political impasse in israel but theres no assurance that they even correlated this initiative with anything that adds up to a coherent power but richard do you think its a question of d this is a continuation of traditional u. S. Policies in a way it always felt like they would have to accept that these settlements existed and to try to find a legal way of making them legal or is this a complete about. Well id say its somewhere in between i think george w. Bush back in 2004 seemed to agree with shura that the settlement blocks would have to be incorporated into israel when a final agreement was reached but there was never any explicit departure from the International Consensus which is that the settlements are unlawful and that they are a breach of the 4th Geneva Convention article 49 there was there is never been any serious doubt about that and the fact that the u. S. Expresses a political opinion that they now are legal has no real weight beyond its geo political leverage it has no legal significance let me bring in ramallah has an order of a no to whats the palestinian reaction to this. Youve long said the palestinians have long said that this administration isnt a partner for peace that was echoed by cyber ahead in his statement so if is that the case were still just going to continue down the line or is there been stronger reaction to this well its not a partner in peace but i think we can safely say that its a partner in crime now the Trump Administration has an Ideological Alliance with the Settler Movement in israel thats long been clear for the palestinian side whove considered the trumpet ministration part of the problem since the declaration on jerusalem shortly after. Or less than a year after Trump Took Office so it was not surprising to see the announcement or hear the announcement from overnight but that didnt make it any less infuriating for the palestinians on all you know on the official and the popular level i think whats most dangerous is that those who still make the argument that the case for International Law. In light of a very still timid International Reaction will be under fire in palestine because nobody seems in this agenda of International Law doesnt seem to be having much of a backbone or support internationally beyond the red rhetorical let me bring in gideon levy here in tel aviv has this handed netanyahu the government. I dont think it will have. Immediate effect and i think i was struggling now his supporters will be very happy with this step they are will not understand it and i dont think it will have an immediate effect this will not save the world this will not bring him to any better place but we have to see to in an overall view i mean the United States administration can declare to morrow morning there read the raping hes legal what does it mean will it make raping legal in the world will it make it moral will it make it acceptable i dont see the point i totally agreed to professor fords my friend professor for. Saying that by the end of the day we are dealing with an International Law and these somebodys going to be stray should has nothing to do with International Law and therefore it has some political influence both within israel and outside but i dont think it has any legal effect it may not have any legal effect but there is gideon an enforcement effect if one of the most influential countries on the planet says ok this is an illegal anymore it makes it very difficult to try and force the law particularly as the u. S. Was the only partner for peace between the israelis and the palestinians surely thats the issue. Yeah about iran you see its now 50 to 53 years that nobody but the 2 to implement the law and israel could ignore the International Law very easy to leave and by the end of the day the settlements are with is they approve of the international or or without it and we have to face eat it we have to face it the settlements are there to stay it we have to realize the days of the 2 state solution are gone and we have to see about did you discourse namely the one state solution which is the only solution lift one man one voice one person or one voice thats the only seeing that is remains remains now there is illusion of the americans just enforce it there is no chance for the 2 state solution we have to realize it no not in a melissa time for a one state solution well i think regardless of where we stand whether the 2 state or the one state i think what needs to be done what we all need to focus on is how these policies and practices of israel can be made costly for israel whether we want regardless of what we want to advance israel will continue to be to advance racist policies will continue to trade 20 percent of its population the palestinian israelis as 10 class citizens adding to that the palestinians in the occupied territories not going to change policy unless israel is compelled to do that i think in many ways what trump is doing is forcing the hand of those who still think that laws count for something too to defend them because this is the implication of what trump or the trumpet ministration did last night doesnt stop at the borders of israel and palestine i think it goes well beyond that and if trump. Ozs way he will unravel the in the International Order all together if there is seriousness and if the policies of israel are made costly if this occupation this racism this colonise ation is made costly then talking about a solution regardless of the formula will become possible otherwise we will continue to have the status quo of one state reality where palestinians are oppressed denied basic human rights denied civil rights denied that they denied their own existence even if you will by many in the knowledge stream israeli political system and i have to point out i didnt really see any difference between netanyahu and guy in welcoming the Trump Administrations announcement and that says a lot it says a lot about a political system that has been emboldened then taken over by the settlement agenda as good on levy once wrote i dont know maybe 8 years ago. Thats what we have right now in israel and unless that changes by by policies by actions from other states i dont see how talk of any solution is worth any energy well lets bring in richard fuld case interesting what nora day is saying about the idea of other states just because the United States as you pointed out has said that this is no longer illegal it doesnt change the fact that actually under International Law it still building settlements is still illegal no settlements are illegal what is the role of other states now other organizations like the European Union is it time for them to step up and try and enforce the laws or trying to least get some sort of resolution condemning the u. S. Move whats the International Communitys next move. Well i suspect the next move will be similar to the next move after the u. S. Moved the American Embassy to jerusalem it will there will be a General Assembly resolution condemning this latest. Move and one should remember one thing that hasnt been mentioned is that trample often does these Foreign Policy initiatives for the sake of domestic politics particularly in view of the election in a year from now hes thinking of his then jellicoe and zionist bases of support hes thinking of the rich donors like Sheldon Adelson im not sure that there is as much emphasis in his thinking or acting in this way as would be the case with other kind of leaders in International Issues come very secondary for him and its true as was said that hes against any kind of legal structure in International Affairs he withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Agreement he torpedoed the paris environment Climate Change agreement so he is an anarchist stick when it comes to International Order but i dont think he has any kind of coherent strategy that is tied to this latest outrage that is morally and politically as well as legally unacceptable and i agree completely with what gideon said that were faced. Now with the reality of which one state solution is going to prevail its not a matter of preference its a matter of the reality on the ground and those of us that favor a legal and moral and even spiritual solution favorite democratic secular state that is treat both peoples equally i mean gideon let me bring you in here the word anik history is used to describe trumps policies i mean thats a very good word i think to use he often makes policy on the fly but the policy on the fly that hes making for his domestic audience is very much in the benefit for the hardliners in israel so is there a way out of this for the left in israel for the moderates is there anything that they can look to in this u. S. Administration that might give them hope or is it just simply this is it now. Imaan who are the moderates in israel and it was just mentioned that the leader of the socalled moderates reacted exactly the same to to their American Administration step benjamin a term you know their real discourse in israel right now is between extreme right wingers and right wingers between more polite right wing and less polite right wing very little is being left from the left from these very real left very little can be expected from their zionist left who tries to eat the cake and to leave it complete to to leave to to gain everything from every saying to pay some lip service for peaceful justice and to do exactly the same steps like the early cooled by the end of the day we have to realize that israel is a hole is today very much on the nation elease the religious right to being poor and they expect patients that the peace came point change will come from within israel cannot be met because there is no incentive for any kind of change from within israeli life it is very so good nobody is going to bother about any kind of change putting an end to the occupation stopping the settlements caring about their human rights and the lives of the palestinians all those are off the table in israel and you see to each Campaign Nobody speaks about it or let me bring in nor are they. No or theres no americans anymore for the palestinians at least as a peace broker doesnt seem to be any real partner coming to the fore the saudis and al you know saddling up to the israelis there are relations between the 2 countries now were seeing other sunni states actually warming towards this Israeli Administration when it actually gets formed again were still that still another. Thing but is there a potential palestinian partner a peace broker an honest broker or are you a lot of options no no i dont think that youre ever out of options i think this is a very critical juncture for the palestinians i think over all this is perhaps one of the most difficult periods weve gone through in decades given the dismal state of arab affairs and the fact that countries whose continued leadership are continued existence of the regimes are dependent on the mercy of donald trump who requires good relations with israel the situation has become quite difficult however i will go back to the idea that was mentioned by dr fall can get on the levee the fact that we might think that things will you know all you need is a broker i think is incomplete what we need in my opinion is an alliance and alliance of the like minded internationally what is happening right now is a way that tsunami of the hostility towards wools and regulations and laws these laws govern a lot more than the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force which is in the un charter it governs everything from trade to bilateral relations to movement of People Movement of goods the whole system through which we all operate depends on making sure that it continues to work we cannot pick and choose from it and im not speaking here idealistically after all the 2 States Formula or the one state formula were not talking about a maximalist position i think theres an opportunity for the palestinians to harness this concern worldwide about the Trump Administration and to push for bolder positions from countries for. More courageous positions if you will i think countries take the lead from ireland from sweden from many countries that have been very clear on where they stand in terms of the legality of settlements in terms of what settlement products mean and we need to see more of those actions this occupation these policy is of the right in israel have to have consequences the occupation has still hurt israel in order for israel to do something about it but right now as we heard from don levy life is good in israel nobody sees the palestinians nobody sucks about the palestinians and they dont have to no thank you very much for that we are running out of time but i do very quickly just want to ask one last question to richard fuld and harare just very quickly is there an option for the palestinians for the israelis for another partner if the u. S. Is simply going to take this road is there is there anybody else not at the moment but i think one thing we can say is that shivlal society and the b. D. S. Campaign trade issues from below are perhaps the most relevant short term political way to. Support the Palestinian National struggle i think diplomacy is really going to dead hand it can have a short term effect. Criticizing what. Trump just done but it wont change anything fundamentally i want to thank all our guests gideon levy richard fuld and norah day and thank you too for watching you can see the program again any time by visiting a website aljazeera dot com for further discussion go to our Facebook Page thats facebook dot com for its last a. J. Inside story and you can also join the conversation on twitter handle is at a. J. Inside story from imran khan and the whole team here by phone now. I. Ruins that speak of which history and the ones ranged from this part thats more than 600 years ago this is the old town of the door to the sacred land of the gods and to the century of much peach ancient traditions are still being embraced here today that may change less than 2 kilometers away bulldozers are never the ground for a controversial new airport thats expected to shuttle millions of tourists to Historic Sites the airport should then be the sacred folly as culture traditions for thailand but the big powers want to because its the door to much of each. Kind of poor is to buy them and then i would be in favor of an airport if more people come and make business with us but only if it will preserve our environment and our ruins some farmers like it leave their lives may change Bring Development to our community and country. To deal with poverty unless you deal with the gap you decide to i just agree with that toy it sounds like ill be waving the public become a treat for the president not literally mean anybody these people well trained as much. As we have been very inspirational populist altered future join me in the sun as i put it up for questions to my special guests and challenge them to some straight talking political debate. Aljazeera. Cant stand the differences. And the similarities of cultures across the world. Aljazeera. Israel strikes Syrian Military targets in response to rocket attacks a day before. A welcoming peace at all but youre watching out of syria live from our headquarters here in doha also coming up china accuses the u. S. Of interference off the Senate Passes bills supporting the protesters in hong kong plus. I should have seen that connection differently and had i done so i would have raised my own objections tone from former special envoys ukraine tells the impeachment inquiry he didnt realize key
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