Secretary of State Blinken reverses Trump policy on Israeli settlements in West Bank

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reversed a Trump-era policy known as the "Pompeo doctrine" shortly after Israel announced it would be expanding settlements in the West Bank. 

On Friday, Blinken said that Israel expanding settlements in the West Bank is "inconsistent with international law," according to Axios. 

When Mike Pompeo was Secretary of State in 2019, he declared that Israeli settlements were not "inconsistent with international law," a decision that changed how the U.S. tackled the issue for decades. 

Blinken spoke out against Israel when it announced it would be expanding settlements, saying he was "disappointed." 

"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, Axios reports. 

He said that these expansions would weaken the security of Israel.