White House Knocks Israel Over Settlements

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Foreign Policy

(AP Photo/Dan Balilty)

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs this morning released a statement strongly criticizing Israel's decision to approve the construction of hundreds of housing units in West Bank settlements.

The Obama administration has called on Israel to freeze all construction in the settlements, which are Israeli outposts set up on land claimed by Palestinians.

"We regret the reports of Israel's plans to approve additional settlement construction," Gibbs said. "Continued settlement activity is inconsistent with Israel's commitment under the Roadmap."
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"As the President has said before, the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement expansion and we urge that it stop," he continued. "We are working to create a climate in which negotiations can take place, and such actions make it harder to create such a climate."

Gibbs went on to say that the U.S. appreciates Israeli's "stated intent" to limit settlement activity, and added that "the U.S. commitment to Israel's security is and will remain unshakeable." He reiterated the administration's commitment to a peaceful two-state solution.

"Our objective remains to resume meaningful negotiations as soon as possible in pursuit of this goal," he said. "We are working with all parties – Israelis, Palestinians, and Arab states -- on the steps they must take to achieve that objective."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aides told the Associated Press that a temporary construction freeze was still possible following the building of the new units and the completion of construction on 2,500 other units.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by Aldymac September 6, 2009 3:10 PM EDT: Obama says he too, is a christian, he also says he is born in the US, but your argument on here is just as weak as his argument is. If you were a christian, you wouldn't be arguing on here, you would already know the end of the story.; Reply to this comment


by marvenetta September 6, 2009 2:08 PM EDT: Since the year of 2000 there have been 123 Jew children killed by Palestinians, and 1,487 Palestinian children killed by Jews.

No Jew children were killed in 2006 and 2007, but no year passes without Palestinian children being killed by the IDF and israeli police.

Jews and their supporters use lies and propaganda against the Palestinians and Arabs to justify Israeli Jew nazi tactics, land stealing, and cold bloodied murder of defenseless, Palestinian women and children. Israeli Jews are cowards with superiority over the Palestinians, Arabs, and Iranians because of their nuclear bombs and US support. That's why i am praying that one day Iran and the arab countries will get nuclear bombs to counterbalance those of Israel. Then, we will all get to see how brave and powerful the Israeli Jews really are. Jew lies, propaganda, and backing of the US won't really matter, because the playing field will be even. That's a day many in the world will embrace. BTW, i am christian, born, and raised in the US.; Reply to this comment


by Aldymac September 6, 2009 9:05 AM EDT: I suppose suicide bombers who have killed thousands of innocent people in Isreal are also 'victims' of Isreal? Hamas holding Isreali soldiers for ransom? Is that not a criminal act?
In Viet Nam, two of my men were killed by a seven year old kid, hamas and hisbolla have steadilly shown pictures of them training kids to kill and to hate, that seven year old in Viet Nam didn't know any difference, because he was taught to kill and to hate. There is no difference between hamas, hisbolla, or the VC.
"WE can forgive the Arabs for killing our children, we cannot forgive the Arabs for forcing us to kill their children, until the Arabs love their children enough to stop killing our children, there can be no peace in the middle east". Golda Mier
That pretty much says it all, doesn't it?; Reply to this comment


by marvenetta September 6, 2009 7:33 AM EDT: In answer to your question, Israel does not shoot missiles and mortals at Gaza, but the IDF do fly around in their US helicopters and planes and drop bombs and white phosphorus indiscriminately on defenseless, palestinian civilians, killing hundreds of them. The IDF also attacks by land with its US armored cars and tanks equipped with machine guns and bombs to kill large numbers of defenseless, Palestinian civilians.

Yes, Israeli Jews do have good reason to fear for their safety because of their on the Palestinians. Their crimes are genocide, ethnic cleansing, warsaw-like concentration camps and ghettos, inhumane treatment, and the imprisonment of over 700 Palestinian children-some as young as 9yo. Israel is a threat to the Middle East, and Iran and the arab countries must get nuclear bombs as defense agaist Israel. Sooner or later, the problem of Israel wlll have to be dealt with.; Reply to this comment


by Aldymac September 5, 2009 10:59 PM EDT: One point two billion Muslims and nine million jews, more than a hundred million of those Muslims are jihadists, so that means that every jew in Isreal has to fear ten or twelve to one odds of surviving all those terrorists assualts against them? even the babies have that many against them, and it is the jihadists that are victims of Isreal? How many missles or mortar rounds per day does Isreal throw at Gaza? how many at Lebanon? If all of islam came at Isreal it would be 120 to 1 odds. Isreal has had plenty of reasons to use nuclear weapons if they had them, going enmass against Isreal even if they had nukes, you could still overrun them, it is kind of silly to think Isreal is victimising islam, don't you think so?; Reply to this comment


by marvenetta September 5, 2009 6:31 PM EDT: Israel has brought nothing but conflict, death, and destruction to the Middle East since its inception. The Israeli Jews have a history of killing and committing crimes on the palestinian and arab neighbors for their land, and justifying their crimes with lies and propaganda about the palestinian and arab people. The Israeli Jews have no respect for any people or law, other than their own. As a result, it is understandable that Iran would feel the need to get nuclear bombs to defend its sovereignty and people from Israel. Afterall, Israel possesses 200-300 nuclear bombs and is the arch enemy of Iran.

In reference to your victim claim, no one makes more money playing the "blame or victim game" than Jews. A few of these blame and victim money money makers are anti-semitism, holocaust, islamic terrorists, Iran wants blow Israel off the map, and now Pres. Obama. The Israeli Jews really need to stop blaming others for their crimes and shortcomings, and also stop using nazi ideology and tactics to steal land from the Palestinians and Arabs to reach their zionist/nazi objective for a Greater Israel. A good example of the "blame and victim game" is your implication that Pres. Obama is a muslim trying to victimize Israel for Islam. Pres. Obama is Christian, not muslim, as you already know. SHAME ON YOU FOR YOUR MEAN SPIRITEDNESS AND PROPAGANDA!!!; Reply to this comment


by Aldymac September 5, 2009 3:32 PM EDT: Isreal has many times bent over backwards to bring peace to the region, anyone who has been to war doesn't want more war, unless you are a jihadist and war is your religion. That is the number one reason there has been little peace in the middle east, the jihadists don't want a two state situation with Isreal. Why do you think Iran has made itself into such a jihadist presence through hamas and hisbolla? As long as there is an Iran with aspirations of the persian empire still in its religious leadership there will be no peace untill the religious headship is brought down to the grave. That chance was destroyed in the last election held in Iran.
Isreal has been more of a stabiliser in the middle east than liberals want us to believe, Isreal has acted in defence, but you will 'never' hear that from the jihadists. They are the ones who want everyone to think they are the victims, there is money to be made as victims, thats why they do whatever it takes to get the money for their "victims", that money then goes into more weapons, it keeps the cycle going.
Our own president is well into keeping the cycle going, he does very well for them. He is into helping force Isreal to bow to him and surrender to the palistinian idealogy, in other words, he, as well as islam would like Isreal to commit suicide for the cause of islam. That will not happen.; Reply to this comment


by UsoWrong September 5, 2009 11:27 AM EDT: The Palestinians who were Jordanians who were Syrians already have a nation to which they might belong; likewise the Gazans who were Egyptians have a nation to which they pledged allegiance for decades.

The status of this-or-that international boundary in the disputed territories is a matter of boots-on-the-ground, just as international boundaries have been settled throughout the world. What is not in dispute is that Muslim xenophobia and racism created this situation.

If the Muslims of the British Palestine era 1920s-1940s had not attacked their Jewish neighbors, if they had not supported a political/religious leader like the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem - who was a Nazi-ally involved in the extermination of Jews in the Balkans, and a relative of PLO leader Yasser Arafat - then the Jews might not have needed a Jewish-majority state from which they could maintain their own self-defense.

Lebanon was carved out of French Syria during this time for similar reasons, the defense of Christians in that region. The states of the Near East are all 20th-Century creations, and all have artifical boundaries.

However, there is only one state that has a majority secular government and a multi-party political system and a population of war refugees that despite being outnumbered hundreds-to-1, in a nation the size of New Jersey, is still talked-about as if it was an imperial power.

If anyone wants to see a display of Jihadist agit-prop, the framing of the anti-Israeli questions asked at the CBS News website is an excellent example.; Reply to this comment


by marvenetta September 5, 2009 10:28 AM EDT: Aldymac,

Israel does not want a two state solution and has a history of sabotaging all peace negotiations and blaming the Palestinians for the failed negotiations. This time Israel has demonstrated to the world that it does not want peace, if peace means having to give up its land stealing and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. Israel has rejected all offers from Pres. Obama and the Arabs for peace agreement with the Palestinians. The Israeli Jews deserve whatever future catastrophes are waiting for them around the corner.; Reply to this comment


by hhkeller September 5, 2009 10:14 AM EDT: The US is run by the Israelis at this point. Even southern Senators tow the line. Most Americans really don't care and Liberal Jewish Americans have their heads in the sand. There is no way the Palestinians are going to get a state. They are a doomed people.; Reply to this comment