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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/16/AR2009061603285.html
1979 State Dept. Legal Opinion Raises New Questions About Israeli Settlements
[Washington Post] Glenn Kessler - Thirty years ago, during the Carter administration, the State Department legal adviser issued an opinion in response to an inquiry from Congress: The establishment of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories "is inconsistent with international law." Israel has insisted that the Geneva Convention does not apply to settlers and broadly contests assertions of the settlements' illegality. Later, President Ronald Reagan said he disagreed with the opinion - he called the settlements "not illegal." State Department spokesmen have declined to say whether the 1979 legal opinion is still the policy of the U.S. government.