While Israel Announces Settlement Expansion, Blinken Reverses the Pompeo Rule

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According to the Times of Israel, Israeli Finance Minister announced that the government will approve the construction of thousands of settlement homes in “Ma’ale Adumim, Keidar and Efrat in the West Bank.” www.timesofisrael.com/... In response, our own Secretary of State Blinken, speaking in Buenos Aires, has reversed the Pompeo Rule at the  State Department which conceived of Israeli settlements as not necessarily illegal.  Blinken is essentially reverting to long-standing American policy enshrined in the Hansell Memo of 1978 which stated that Israeli settlements on Palestinian land is illegal and contravenes International Law.  I had been writing about the Administration’s failure to reinstate the Hansell directive for a length of time and am glad that it is now done.  It follows that “luminaries” such as Smotrich ought to be sanctioned for such a blatant disregard for International Law.  We will see, if this comes to pass.