New Israeli settlement given go- ahead
West Bank outpost, the first in 2 decades, is approved despite concerns of U. S.
JERUSALEM — Israel’s government approved the first West Bank settlement in two decades Thursday, despite a request from President Donald Trump last month to hold off on settlement activity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the decision late Thursday after a meeting of his policymaking Security Cabinet.
The White House said in a statement that further settlement activity “does not help advance peace” and that it expects Israel to show restraint moving forward. The statement went on to “welcome” what appears to be a limited Israeli commitment to take Trump’s concerns about settlements into “consideration.”
Netanyahu has vowed to build a new settlement to compensate the residents of Amona, an illegal settler outpost that was demolished in February under the orders of Israel’s Supreme Court. Thursday’s announcement said the new settlement would be built near the existing settlement of Shilo, which is near the Amona site. It also said the government had approved tenders to build 2,000 apartments from previously approved settlement projects.
The Palestinians claim the West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in 1967, as parts of a future state. In December, weeks before Trump was inaugurated, President Barack Obama allowed the U. N. Security Council to pass a resolution that declared all settlements in both areas to be illegal. Trump condemned the decision at the time.
Trump told an Israeli newspaper last month that settlements “may not be helpful” and told Netanyahu at the White House that he would like to see some restraint. Since then, Israel and the U. S. have been in talks over what kind of construction the White House would tolerate.
A White House official sought to downplay Thursday’s announcement, saying Netanyahu made his promise to the Amona settlers before Trump laid out his vision. But the official, who agreed to discuss the matter on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about it, signaled that the White House would take a tougher line down the road.
“As the administration has made clear: While the existence of settlements is not in itself an impediment to peace, further unrestrained settlement activity does not help advance peace,” the official said. “The Israeli government has made clear that going forward, its intent is to adopt a policy regarding settlement activity that takes the president’s concerns into consideration. The United States welcomes this.”
More than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel has not built a full- fledged new settlement since the 1990s, but construction during that period has expanded existing settlements.
The Palestinians and the international community consider the settlements obstacles to peace because they take territory where the Palestinians seek to establish their state.
Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi condemned the new settlement approval and called for international intervention.
“Today’s announcement once again proves that Israel is more committed to appeasing its illegal settler population than to abiding by the requirements for stability and a just peace,” she said.