On Friday, Secretary of State Tony Blinken declared that the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is “inconsistent with international law,” overturning the Trump-era decision that had reversed decades of U.S. policy on the matter.

Blinken’s move, reversing the so-called “Pompeo doctrine,” comes in response to the Israeli government’s announcement on Thursday outlining plans for the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, according to a U.S. official who informed Axios.

The State Department had been contemplating this decision over the last three years.

“We are disappointed with the announcement [of new settlements]. It has been a long-standing policy of both Democratic and Republican administrations that new settlements are counterproductive to achieving enduring peace. They are also inconsistent with international law,” Blinken said.

“Our administration maintains firm opposition to settlement expansion, In our judgment it only weakens, not strengthens Israel’s security,” he added, Axios reported.

In November 2019, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared a significant change in U.S. policy, announcing that the United States would no longer regard Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem as “inconsistent with international law.”

Although largely symbolic during the Trump administration, this move marked a substantial departure from U.S. policy, as it reversed a legal stance maintained by the U.S. State Department since 1978.

At that time, during the Carter administration, it was determined that the settlements constituted a violation of international law. The broader international community widely perceives the settlements as illegal.

Written by B.C. Begley