TEL AVIV – Speaking to a group of high ranking pro-Israel Christians on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent declaration that the U.S. no longer considers Jewish settlements in the West Bank unlawful.

“We are not occupiers in a foreign land. This is our homeland since Abraham the Patriarch came here 3,500 years ago. The word ‘Jew’ comes from ‘Judea,’” Netanyahu told lawmakers from 25 countries who were part of a delegation to Jerusalem from the Israel Allies Foundation.

Among the parliamentarians attending the three-day visit were the foreign minister of Venezuela, Julio Borges; Estonia’s Population Minister Riina Solman; and Guatemala’s president-elect, Alejandro Giammattei.

In a bid to counter the European Court of Justice’s recent decision to bar labeling products from east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Golan Heights as Israeli, the IAF signed a declaration stating that “never again will nations stand silent in the face of boycotts against the Jewish people.”

Netanyahu underscored the relations between his country and pro-Israel Christians, saying that it was a friendship based on shared values.

“There are two kinds of friendships: friendships based on values and friendships based on interests. Sometimes they overlap,” Netanyahu said. “What’s important about this group is that, first and foremost, it is based on shared values.”

He added that one of those shared values was the effort to bring the truth to light.

“Even when Israel is under attack and defamed, you know the truth. There is no replacement for the truth when facing lies,” he said.