US Recognizes Israeli Settlements

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that the US government no longer considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal. Since 1978, it has been the opinion of the State Department that the settlements were built on occupied territory, which is a war crime under the Geneva conventions. This opens a clear path for Netanyahu to annex the West Bank settlements and boost his approval rating at a rather precarious moment in his long and storied career.