Mitnick, the U.S., and ‘Illegal’ Settlements
American policy on the legality of the settlements has been consistent for decades. And Joshua Mitnick’s coverage of that policy has also been consistent. Consistently wrong, that is. Back in 2006, Mitnick wrote in the Christian Science Monitor:
The US and most countries consider Maaleh Adumim and dozens of other Israeli settlements illegal under international law because they were established on territory under military occupation.
The United States does not consider West Bank and eastern Jerusalem settlements illegal. At the time, the Monitor failed to correct the error. Had it done so, Mitnick may not have written the other day in the Wall Street Journal:
Most of the international community considers Israeli building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to be illegal, including the U.S. . . .
U.S. policy has not changed since Mitnick’s 2006 article. In fact, there has been no change in U.S. policy on the question of the legality of settlements since President Carter’s departure from the White House. Although the Carter administration did consider the settlements illegal, subsequent administrations did not. President Reagan had explained: “As to the West Bank, I believe the settlements there – I disagreed when the previous Administration referred to them as illegal, they’re not illegal” (New York Times, Feb. 3, 1981). Other presidents, including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, also did not term settlements “illegal.”
In February 2011, the United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution which labeled the settlements “illegal.” In the Feb. 20, 2011 “Meet the Press” broadcast, then US Ambassador Susan Rice indicated that the appearance of the word “illegal” was one of the reasons why the US rejected the resolution.
Last August, The New York Times was the most recent media outlet to correct this very same error:
Will The Wall Street Journal follow the commendable lead of The Times and set the record straight?
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