Mike Pompeo on Palestine

Mike Pompeo, as Secretary of State, adopted a position overtly supportive of Israel that challenged long-standing US policy concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He explicitly defended Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, arguing they were not inconsistent with international law, effectively overturning prior legal advice from 1978 and contradicting numerous international bodies. His position is notably underpinned by his religious convictions, stating that, as an evangelical Christian, he is convinced by his reading of the Bible that the land is the rightful homeland of the Jewish people. This view has led him to refuse to support a two-state solution, favoring an outcome that guarantees Israeli security while blaming Palestinian leadership for the failure of peace negotiations.

Furthermore, he has advocated for controlling the historical narrative surrounding military actions in Gaza, arguing that history books should not focus on the victims in Gaza but rather on Israel as the primary victim. This stance extends to policy actions, such as announcing that goods made in settlements must be labeled as products of Israel for US export, which critics argue legitimizes illegal annexation and promotes the administrative fragmentation of the Palestinian people. He also vowed to classify the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel as anti-Semitic and actively fight it by targeting affiliated organizations' funding.