The Israeli government has announced yet another new round of
settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank — 1,500 new settler homes
in East Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo. It is the latest in a series of
Israeli settlement expansions following last month’s historic
recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state by the United
Nations. The Obama administration, meanwhile, has issued some of its
most forceful public criticism of Israeli settlement expansion to date,
yet has acknowledged it will not take any practical steps to respond on
the ground. After weeks of international calls for a U.S. response to
Israeli settlement growth, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland
criticized Israel on Tuesday.
Original Article
Source: democracynow.org
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Victoria Nuland: "We are deeply disappointed that Israel insists on continuing this pattern of provocative action. These repeated announcements and plans of new construction run counter to the cause of peace. Israel’s leaders continually say that they support a path towards a two-state solution, yet these actions only put that goal further at risk."Despite the criticism, Nuland went on to acknowledge the Obama administration will leverage none of its political and diplomat clout with Israel — including billions in annual U.S. aid and veto power at the U.N. Security Council — to stop the settlements.
Reporter 1: "You know, you are 'deeply disappointed.' I mean, next week you can be 'exceedingly deeply disappointed' but the Israelis will continue to build. What leverage you can actually exercise?"
Victoria Nuland: "I just answered that question."
Reporter 1: "I want to ask this, because we keep having — we keep going around this thing."
Reporter 2: "Would the United — the administration be willing to put this strong language in a Security Council resolution, even though it wouldn’t change the situation on the ground?"
Victoria Nuland: "I don’t think we think that’s a helpful step at this point."
Source: democracynow.org
Author: --
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