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White House to Bibi: No More Settlement Construction

BibiObama3.jpgAides to Binyamin Netanyahu told the media on September 3rd that the Israeli prime minister will approve building hundreds of new homes in West Bank settlements before he considers a settlement freeze. Early the next day, the White House issued a stern message telling Bibi that he cannot have the cake and eat it too.

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

This is an unusually harsh message. We are told that it reflects the growing level of frustration in the Obama administration with Netanyahu's manipulation of the media to both depict the nature of his government's negotiations with the administration over a settlement freeze and to influence these talks.

Netanyahu, under growing pressure from the more extreme right flank of his Likud party, is eager to show that he is not bending under U.S. pressure. His aides told reporters that the U.S. has agreed to the completion of 2,500 previously approved housing units in the settlements and that he intends to approve more before he agrees to a freeze. The U.S. reportedly does not accept this large number and definitely does not accept the approval of more settlement construction projects.

According to Peace Now, if construction of this large number of homes in the settlements continues, the freeze will be merely "virtual."

A set of understandings between the governments of Israel and the U.S. is near. Most likely, the understandings will include some areas of disagreements.

What is clear is that the Obama administration will not be the first American administration to officially sanction Israeli construction in West Bank settlement. "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement expansion," the White House made clear today.

We commend the White House for setting the record straight. We also reiterate that a settlement freeze is not just in the interest of the United States. First and foremost, it is in the national security interest of Israel. Settlements are detrimental to Israel. They constitute a burden to Israel's security services. They create points of friction between Israelis and Palestinians. They drain Israel's financial resources. They create an impression that Israelis are not interested in a two-state solution.