US fury as Israel defies
“We regret the reports of Israel’s
plans to approve additional settlement construction,” Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said. “As the President
has said before, the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement expansion and we urge it to stop.”
Another US official said: “In the
end America will be forced to do what is necessary to bring the Israelis and the Palestinians back to the negotiation table.
But the Netanyahu Government has proven difficult to work with.”
Palestinians hope to make Jerusalem their capital, and the 1967 green line, which roughly demarcates
the border upon which the negotiations are being conducted, establishes east Jerusalem as part of a unified Palestinian state.
“Jerusalem is
the one issue that Netanyahu will not compromise over,” one MP in the Prime Minister’s Likud party said. Palestinian
negotiators have made it clear that no final peace accord will be reached without a Palestinian stake in Jerusalem.
US, EU slam Netanyahu's approval of construction
"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 stated. "We
do appreciate Israel's stated intent to place limits on settlement activity and will continue to discuss this with the Israelis
as these limitations are defined."
The
statement added, "The US commitment to Israel’s security is and will remain unshakeable. We believe it can best
be achieved through comprehensive peace in the region, including a two-state solution with a Palestinian state living side
by side in peace with Israel."
It said President Barack Obama was "deeply and personally committed"
to this, and that his objective was to resume negotiations as soon as possible.
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The tension is building. Watch and listen to the HOLY SPIRIT.
-daniel
