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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| US back tracks & labels settlements illegitimate |
| 2009-11-05 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that Washington does not accept the legitimacy of Israeli settlement activity but believes that getting to talks is the quickest way to achieve a freeze. "We do not accept the legitimacy of settlement activity and we have a very firm belief that ending all settlement activity, current and future, would be preferable," Clinton said after meeting President Hosni Mubarak. "Getting into final status negotiations will allow us to bring an end to settlement activity," she added. Cairo is Clinton's last stop on a tour of the region during which Arab anger has flared over signs the Obama administration no longer backs Palestinian demands that Israel immediately stop building settlements on occupied territory in the West Bank. Clinton also said Middle East peace talks must include the disputed city of Jerusalem and said "there is no doubt in anyone's mind that moving toward a state... must include all the issues... and that includes Jerusalem," she said at a press conference. "We want to assure you that our goal is a real state, with a real sovereignty," she said U.S. President Barack Obama has eased pressure on Israel over settlements, calling for restraint in construction where he had earlier pushed for a freeze. The change has angered Palestinians who say it has killed any hope of reviving peace talks soon. Clinton underscored this shift in emphasis in Jerusalem on Saturday when she hailed Netanyahu's offer on settlement restraint as "unprecedented" and urged the Palestinians to drop their precondition for talks without making any similar specific demands of the Israeli side. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 U.S. President Barack Obama....calling for restraint in construction Give them our Government's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That sure slow things down immediately. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-11-05 19:20 |
| #2 Indeed, grom. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2009-11-05 19:16 |
| #1 we have a very firm belief that ending all settlement activity, current and future, would be preferable Preferable to whom? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-11-05 06:20 |