US 'disappointed' at Israel's settlement move
AFP
Date: 10/15/2010
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States said Friday it was "disappointed" with Israel's plans for 238 new settler homes in east Jerusalem, saying it undermined US efforts to revive Middle East peace talks.
"We were disappointed by the announcement of new tenders in east Jerusalem yesterday. It is contrary to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.
He said US officials had expressed their disappointment to Israeli counterparts when they were informed of the settlement plans.
When asked if US Middle East envoy George Mitchell was planning to return to the region, Crowley said: "We're still evaluating... what the appropriate next steps are. I've got nothing to announce."
The plans for new housing in the settlement neighborhoods of Pisgat Zeev and Ramot were approved on Thursday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Ynet news website said.
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat said it proved Israel was intent on "killing" every opportunity to revive peace talks between the two sides. "Netanyahu has made his choice: settlements over peace," he said.
Middle East peace talks launched in early September by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ground to a halt within weeks after the expiry of a 10–month moratorium on the construction of new Jewish settler homes.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has refused to hold further negotiations while settlement construction in the West Bank continues and last week Arab League foreign ministers gave US negotiators a month to resolve the impasse.
Source
About headlines and content that gets changed after it was added to this site - see disclaimer here
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in ourefforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
|
|
Email this to a friend