Headquarters of the United States Department of State. Photo: wiki commons.

Israel’s decision on Monday to retroactively legalize three outposts in Judea and Samaria drew condemnation Tuesday from the U.S.

The Prime Minister’s office announced on Monday that a decision was made to “regulate the status” of Bruchin, Sansana and Rechelim, three outposts in Judea and Samaria.

The three communities were founded in the 1990s and are home to relatively young, religious families. Some 350 residents live in Bruchin and 240 in Rechelim, both in the northern part of Judea and Samaria, while Sansana, with a population of 240, lies further to the south.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Tuesday expressed Washington’s concern over settlement activity in Judea and Samaria, continuing the Obama Administration’s line on settlement activity.

Nuland told reporters, “We are, obviously, concerned by the reports that we’ve seen … We don’t think this is helpful to the process and we don’t accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity.”