The Legal Forum congratulates the US government on its just and much needed declaration of the legality of settlement in Judea and Samaria.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced yesterday that the U.S. will not consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank a violation of international law. The US is planning to repudiate the 1978 State Department legal opinion (Hansell Memo) that held that civilian settlements in Judea & Samaria are “inconsistent with international law.”

As an organization that has been promoting the recognition of the legality of settlement in Judea and Samaria for years, the Legal Forum views it as an important and necessary decision, which rests on the recognition of international law and the affinity of Jews to their land.

There is now no more reason not to apply Judge Edmond Levy’s 2012 Report on the Legal Status of Building in Judea and Samaria, which concluded that lsraeli settlements are legal under international law, and regulate settlement in Judea and Samaria.