Israeli settler group shrugs off White House criticism

JERUSALEM — Israeli settlers on Friday shrugged off White House criticism of settlement construction, convinced they have the sympathies of President Donald Trump. The Palestinians, still wary of Trump, warned that the settlers’ hard-line stance could spell the end to a two-state solution to the conflict.

Trump has been perceived as sympathetic to the settlements, an issue at the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict that was a frequent source of friction between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former President Barack Obama. Israeli nationalists believe they now have an ally in the White House and have made no secret they will push for more settlements in the West Bank.

The White House said Thursday that although the administration doesn’t “believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal.”

The unexpected warning came hours after Netanyahu vowed to establish the first new West Bank settlement in over two decades “as soon as possible,” promising to make up for a courtordered demolition of an illegal settlement outpost.

Israeli security forces dismantled the West Bank outpost of Amona earlier in the day amid clashes between police and dozens of hard-line settlers who had barricaded themselves in a synagogue.

Oded Revivi, the chief foreign envoy of the Yesha settlers’ council, said his group “thanks the White House for asserting that our communities were never an impediment to peace.” Using the biblical name for the West Bank, he said “nothing is more natural and morally just than Jews building in Judea.”

“We look forward to working closely with our friends in the new Trump administration to build a brighter future all,” he added.

The settler movement is a potent political force in Israel, and Netanyahu’s narrow nationalist coalition government is dominated by settlers and their supporters.

The Palestinians claim all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem along with the Gaza Strip — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — for their state.

The Palestinians and much of the international community consider all Israeli settlements illegal and view them as a hindrance to reaching a two-state solution to the conflict.