Jordan's foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, warned that a U.S. change of position on Monday on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank would have "dangerous consequences" on the prospect of reviving the Middle East peace process.

Safadi said in a tweet that Jewish settlements in the territory were illegal and killed the prospect of a two-state solution in which a Palestinian state would exist side-by-side with Israel, which Arab countries say is the only way to resolve the decades-old Arab-Israeli conflict.

The United States on Monday effectively backed Israel's right to build Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank by abandoning its four-decade-old position that they were "inconsistent with international law."

The announcement was made by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements is not, per se, inconsistent with international law," Pompeo told reporters at the State Department, reversing a formal legal position taken by the United States under former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1978.

"This is for the Israelis and the Palestinians to negotiate," he said, saying the U.S. decision was not meant "to compel a particular outcome nor create any legal obstacle to a negotiated resolution."

The announcement was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said it "rights a historical wrong," and received condemnation from Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who said Washington was threatening "to replace international law with the 'law of the jungle.'"

The U.S.'s position has angered the Palestinians. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, argued the the United States is neither qualified nor is authorized to negate international legitimacy resolutions and has no right to give any legitimacy to Israeli settlement.

The announcement marked the third major instance in which the Trump administration has sided with Israel and against Palestinians and Arab positions.

In 2017 Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and, in 2018, the United States formally opened an embassy there. U.S. policy had previously been that Jerusalem's status was to be decided by the parties to the conflict.

Trump's move may aim to help Netanyahu as he tries to stay in power. After two inconclusive elections this year, Netanyahu and his political rival Benjamin Gantz have both struggled to forge a ruling coalition.

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(With input from Reuters, AFP)