US To Reverse On Legality Of West Bank Settlements

The Associated Press reports:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to announce on Monday that the U.S. is softening its position on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the latest in a series of Trump administration moves that weaken Palestinian claims to statehood.

Pompeo plans to repudiate a 1978 State Department legal opinion that held that civilian settlements in the occupied territories are “inconsistent with international law.” The move will likely anger Palestinians and put the U.S. at odds with other nations working to end the conflict.

The Trump administration views the opinion, the basis for long-standing U.S. opposition to expanding the settlements, as a distraction and believes any legal questions about the issue should be addressed by Israeli courts, according to a draft of Pompeo’s remarks on the policy obtained by The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Pompeo is expected to announce that the U.S. is softening its position on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the latest in a series of Trump administration moves that weaken Palestinian claims to statehood
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— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) November 18, 2019

Pompeo will repudiate the State Department’s 41-year-old legal opinion that Israel’s West Bank settlements are illegal, paving the way for further annexation and occupationhttps://t.co/WCcrAnwIaF pic.twitter.com/ddxKYT8560

— Evan Hill (@evanchill) November 18, 2019