US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman's remarks over the weekend, in which he indicated Israel would be able to annex part of the territory in Judea and Samaria, are not so dramatic as they seem.
President George W. Bush's famous letter from over a decade ago says that it would be unrealistic to ignore the changes on the ground since the 1967 Six-Day War.
Friedman's comments are different because they imply Israel has a right to the land.
But in practical terms, both administrations said the same thing.
Friedman essentially said that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally forms his fifth government, the US administration would no longer try to negotiate a settlement based on the 1967 borders and will discard this notion, recognize Israel's sovereignty in the settlement blocs or even its sovereignty on all settlements in Judea and Samaria.
In fact, settlements comprise less than 5% of Judea and Samaria.
Friedman's comments lie in stark contrast to the Obama administration's diplomatic onslaught against Israel in its final days, when it let the UN Security Council pass Resolution 2334.
That resolution states that Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria was illegal. This radical and distorted anti-Israeli decision will haunt us down the road; it is against international law and only encourages anti-Semitism.
The Obama administration's conduct was disgraceful because it took place after Donald Trump had already been elected.
It was designed to undermine the incoming administration even before inauguration day.
But ever since Trump took the oath of office, Israel and Washington have never been closer.
If a Democrat wins the 2020 election, Trump's policies will be reversed and Israel will once again face constant pressure on all diplomatic fronts.
The so-called "deal of the century" the Trump administration is pursuing, is less about the Palestinians and Israelis decide; it is about what Israel and the United States decide.
The borders will be determined by the two countries based on their mutual understandings and benefit the Palestinians economically.
The plan could have been put to action a long time ago had it not been for Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman's electoral sabotage, which forced upon us another early election.
But the most important thing in the interview was that it reminded us that Israel has a right to Judea and Samaria.
The entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River has been designated for Jewish settlement by international law as early as the 1920s through several international bodies, including the League of Nations.
This right did not expire with the 1947 partition plan, and not with the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. It has remained in place after the Six-Day War and has been accepted by jurists in Israel in the first generation after that war.
Only recently have Israeli legal scholars started to interpret international law against Israel, but this too is changing.
