Last summer, Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md) added an amendment to the Nuclear Agreement Review Act, which prohibits the US from action against the Jewish settlements. Cardin added Amendment 20 or a section called Commercial Partnerships into the bill with provisions
i) To discourage actions by potential trading partners that directly or indirectly prejudice or otherwise discourage commercial activity solely between the United States and Israel.
(ii) To discourage politically motivated actions to boycott, divest from, or sanction Israel and to seek the elimination of politically motivated nontariff barriers on Israeli goods, services, or other commerce imposed on the State of Israel.
(iii) To seek the elimination of state-sponsored unsanctioned foreign boycotts against Israel or compliance with the Arab League Boycott of Israel by prospective trading partners.
At the time there was belated opposition to this addition by pro-BDS progressives, but the legislation had already passed. John Kirby himself lamented the fact that there wasn’t a distinction made in the amendment between Israel proper and the settlements. He emphasized that, since 1967, no US Administration has “defended or supported Israeli settlements or activity associated with them.” The Administration could ignore the Cardin provision, but that might lead to a big court case some day. In any event, when Kirby says product labeling is not a boycott, he is fully aware that US law, courtesy of Ben Cardin, says otherwise.
All of which does not absolve the Netanyahu government from having to come up with a solution that would both take care of Arab violence and murder and bolster business in Judea and Samaria. Yes, there is such a solution, it’s called sovereignty, and it’s time to impose it, at least on Area C, where Jews live. Israel has already paid the full price for it politically and economically, without the benefits — so why not do it already? Now, that would be thinking outside the box.