U.S. Condemns New Israeli Settlements
In this photo taken Friday, June 8, 2012, a domain name poster is displayed at the offices of Artemis Internet, an NCC Group Company in San Francisco. Some 2,000 proposals have been submitted as part of the largest expansion of the Internet address system since its creation in the 1980s. These suffixes would rival ?.com? and about 250 others now in use. The organization behind it, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, will announce a full list and other details in London on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) / Eric Risberg
The White House condemned Israel's approval of 1,600 new settlement homes in disputed East Jerusalem Tuesday.
Israel approved the new construction earlier in the day- a move that immediately clouded a visit by Vice President Joe Biden aimed at repairing strained ties and kickstarting Mideast peace talks.
Spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that President Barack Obama's position on the settlements is known by both the Israelis and the Palestinians.
In Israel, Biden said in a statement that "the substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I've had here in Israel."
Israel OKs 1,600 Homes in East Jerusalem
Relations between Israel and the Obama administration have been chilly precisely because of the settlement issue. The U.S., like the Palestinians and the rest of the international community, believe that Israeli settlements built on lands claimed by the Palestinians undermine peace prospects, and President Obama has been more outspoken on the issue than his predecessors.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuffed calls from the White House to halt all settlement activity, agreeing only to a limited freeze that does not include east Jerusalem.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Efrat Orbach said the new homes would be built in Ramat Shlomo, a neighborhood for ultra-Orthodox Jews in East Jerusalem. She noted that there is a 60-day appeals period, indicating that the decision could yet be changed.
But Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the move was destroying trust needed to go forward with the new round of indirect peace talks, which the two sides agreed this week would take place under the mediation of U.S. envoy George Mitchell.
"With such an announcement, how can you build trust? This is destroying our efforts to work with Mr. Mitchell," he said. "It's a really disastrous situation. I hope that this will be an eye-opener for all in the international community about the need to have the Israeli government stop such futile exercises."
The announcement cast a sudden shadow over the visit by Biden, whose public comments throughout the day had clearly been meant to calm Israeli concerns that Mr. Obama has been less friendly to the country than past U.S. leaders.
Biden told Israel Tuesday that the U.S. is willing to stand by those who will "take risks for peace." Biden told Netanyahu that he was confident Israel was prepared to take such risks.
The move also may have been the result of internal politics. A spokesman for Netanyahu said he was unaware of the announcement, raising the possibility that the Interior Ministry - run by a hard-line religious party - had not coordinated the news with the Israeli leader or even tried to embarrass him.
© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Israel approved the new construction earlier in the day- a move that immediately clouded a visit by Vice President Joe Biden aimed at repairing strained ties and kickstarting Mideast peace talks.
Spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that President Barack Obama's position on the settlements is known by both the Israelis and the Palestinians.
In Israel, Biden said in a statement that "the substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I've had here in Israel."
Israel OKs 1,600 Homes in East Jerusalem
Relations between Israel and the Obama administration have been chilly precisely because of the settlement issue. The U.S., like the Palestinians and the rest of the international community, believe that Israeli settlements built on lands claimed by the Palestinians undermine peace prospects, and President Obama has been more outspoken on the issue than his predecessors.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuffed calls from the White House to halt all settlement activity, agreeing only to a limited freeze that does not include east Jerusalem.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Efrat Orbach said the new homes would be built in Ramat Shlomo, a neighborhood for ultra-Orthodox Jews in East Jerusalem. She noted that there is a 60-day appeals period, indicating that the decision could yet be changed.
But Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the move was destroying trust needed to go forward with the new round of indirect peace talks, which the two sides agreed this week would take place under the mediation of U.S. envoy George Mitchell.
"With such an announcement, how can you build trust? This is destroying our efforts to work with Mr. Mitchell," he said. "It's a really disastrous situation. I hope that this will be an eye-opener for all in the international community about the need to have the Israeli government stop such futile exercises."
The announcement cast a sudden shadow over the visit by Biden, whose public comments throughout the day had clearly been meant to calm Israeli concerns that Mr. Obama has been less friendly to the country than past U.S. leaders.
Biden told Israel Tuesday that the U.S. is willing to stand by those who will "take risks for peace." Biden told Netanyahu that he was confident Israel was prepared to take such risks.
The move also may have been the result of internal politics. A spokesman for Netanyahu said he was unaware of the announcement, raising the possibility that the Interior Ministry - run by a hard-line religious party - had not coordinated the news with the Israeli leader or even tried to embarrass him.
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I always hope for world peace and provocation on the form of total disrespect of other's sovereignty is not acceptable. In view of this, I think Israel has dishonour their part and the US has every right to condemn their actions. I've always felt that Israel didn't really want peace and its more and more obvious now.
I hope more people will realize this and we should support efforts for peace and I fully supported Mr. Obama's team condemning these actions. (they are getting big headed now)
Israel displaces the inhabitants, than laments how unfair it is that some of them dare to fight back.
Israel has the biggest group of lunatics in the world as it's citizens. Whenever in the past a place was taken over, the population was absorbed, Israel alone is the only country that is forcibly removing it's indigenous population so white European Jews can sell the land a good profits. They're nuts.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this a condition of the freeze on settlements?
Spying on our government and industry and stealing American technology;
Ignoring demands and pleas by virtually every U.S. president over the past few decades to end diverse illegal actions that have caused incalculable tragedy, destabilized the region and world, demonstrated ruthless cruelty against entire victim populations, and created escalating enmity toward the United States, whose lobby-promulgated assistance (at least $7 million per day) enables its actions.
? Killing American servicemen (ATTACKING the USS LIBERTY) and citizens; even while receiving more US tax money than any other nation on earth.
ISRAEL is NOT our Friend! REMEMBER THE LIBERTY!!!
How would you like it if another country tried to tell you that you couldn't build a house in the city in which you live? How would you like to face radical Islam everyday? A group that will not allow peace... How many times has Israel already agreed to a two state solution, only to have the Palestinians reject it? Three? Four?
Respect for all other religion and law? You mean, let radical Islam kill them? Is that what you mean???
Maybe the problem is from anti-semitics...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this a condition of the freeze on settlements?
Let it.