It was refreshing that an important policy statement has emerged from Washington, D.C., a city otherwise preoccupied with unending Congressional investigations. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on November 18, 2019 announced a significant change in U.S. policy towards the State of Israel by rejecting a long held State Department legal opinion. The U.S., he said, will no longer recognize per se that Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank are inconsistent with international law. Pompeo's statement was a deliberate reversal of policies of previous U.S. administrations.  The story of the dispute in essence starts with the Mandate for Palestine granted on July 24, 1922 to Britain by the Council of the League of Nations, recalling the historic connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and suggesting their reconstituting their National Home in that country. Article 6 of the Mandate states that it would facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and...(Read Full Article)