More Trump administration announcements on Israel to come, Pompeo hints

Jerusalem (QNN)- In an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Friday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that US policy towards Israel will continue in the same direction in the coming weeks.
“There’s every reason to expect that the direction of travel for US policy with respect to Israel will continue,” he stated.
Pompeo lately visited the illegal Israeli settlements of Psagot in the occupied West Bank, making him the first US secretary of state to visit a West Bank settlement.
I was pleased to visit Tbilisi and Jerusalem this week for productive meetings and to affirm unwavering U.S. support for the security and sovereignty of our allies, Georgia and Israel. pic.twitter.com/5gRGxZUVtp
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) November 21, 2020
Following this visit, Pompeo issued a new policy of allowing products from the settlements to be labeled as ‘made in Israel.’
Pompeo also announced that the US will label the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign as “anti-Semitic.”
Asked if his new policy applies to organizations like Amnesty International, Pompeo answered, “I think the policy is pretty clear. We are going to continue to apply that policy against existing facts on the ground and when it’s applicable, we’ll apply it.”
Asked about the likelihood that a Biden administration would seek to reverse Trump-era policies related to Israel on Iran, the Palestinians and settlements, “We’re still counting votes in the US, so there’s not much game in talking about that, other than to say we’re very convinced that we have made the Middle East safer and the policies we put in place are the right ones,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo would not discuss if other Arab countries may establish diplomatic relations with ‘Israel’, but he said he is still working on it.
“I believe in all my heart that the Trump administration policies that we have set up created the conditions for those leaders to make exactly that decision, and if they do, it will be a glorious thing for the region,” he said.
Pompeo added, “The people of those countries will be better off, with more prosperity and opportunity. They’ll get access to Israeli technology and smarts and creativity and vice-versa. There will be better security relationships and diplomatic relationships.”
He continued, “The Middle East deserves a set of understandings that have Israel as part of the solution here in the Middle East. The Abraham Accords is the instrument for achieving that, and it’s been glorious to be part of a team that has helped these nations get to this place.”
Regarding Palestine, Pompeo commented:
“With respect to Palestinian policy, we hope that Palestinian policy will come to reflect the will of Palestinians. If it does, I am confident that the Palestinian leadership would come to the table. They’d sit down, have hard-fought negotiations. They’d have disagreements we’ve had for decades, but they can come to a set of common understandings that would deliver a really good outcome and a much better life for the people that live in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip as well. These are places where people are living in very difficult conditions, and it’s most unfortunate and unnecessary. It’s brought to them by failed leadership whether it’s the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza or Hamas in Gaza or the leadership in the West Bank today. It’s most unfortunate.”