The political gift made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the eve of the expiration of the deadline for forming an Israeli government is seen by some as paving the way for Israel to further annex Palestinian occupied territories.
Pompeo reversed a longstanding US position that had declared settlements to be illegal by saying Nov. 18, "After carefully studying all sides of the legal debate ... the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, per se, inconsistent with international law."
