US Lawmakers Furious Over Criticizing Israel

US congressmen have rebuked President Barack Obama's administration for its criticism of Israel over its illegal settlement expansions.

Eric Cantor, the number two Republican in the House of Representatives, claimed on Tuesday that the government's criticism of Israel threatened US national security.

"To say that I am deeply concerned with the irresponsible comments that the White House, vice president and the secretary of state have made against Israel is an understatement," Cantor said in a fiery tone.

He also blamed the Obama administration of trying to gain favor from the Arab world by damaging its allies and friends.

The lawmaker meanwhile stressed that any peace talks facilitated by the United States in the Middle East should be based solely on Israeli terms.'

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Israel Plans Massive Settlement Expansion

Reports say Israel planned to build hundreds of new housing units in occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds as tensions mount in the city over the regime's settlement works.

Citing the Israeli media, Ma'an news agency reported Wednesday that the Israeli housing ministry plans to build 1,300 new buildings across the Pisgat Ze'ev, Nabi Yakov and Har Homa neighborhoods in East Jerusalem al-Quds.'

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Palestinians Accuse U.S. of Killing Peace Prospects

Pointing an accusing finger at the United States, the Palestinians on Sunday said Washington's backing for Israeli refusal to halt Jewish settlement expansion had killed any hope of reviving peace negotiations soon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, buoyed by new-found support from the Obama administration, urged the Palestinians to "get a grip" and drop their settlement freeze precondition for restarting talks suspended since December.'

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Israeli Settlements and Obama's Offer

Both the US President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced this agreement during the tripartite meeting of Obama, the Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Again shortly after the meeting, the United States asserted it would no longer demand Israel to stop or freeze the establishment of settlements , but to "rationalize it".

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Mahmoud Abbas Doing What He Does Best: Selling Palestine Down The Potomac River

The article also noted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had dropped the pre-condition of a settlement construction halt under US pressure. In exchange for the pressure for easing Abbas’ demand on settlements, the Israeli daily reported, US President Barack Obama promised Abbas that the Palestinian viewpoint will be taken into consideration in forming the “framework” for the negotiations.

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Israeli Interior Minister: US Can’t Stop Settlement Expansion

Touring the sights of planned settlement expansions in the West Bank, Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai insisted that the US could not do anything to stop the new construction, and insisted that “there is no escape from our crucial security need to continue with this construction.”

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Judenrein! Israel Adopts Nazi Term to Back Settlers

Hosting the German foreign minister this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used an especially tainted term to condemn the Palestinian demand that Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank be removed.

"Judea and Samaria cannot be Judenrein," a Netanyahu confidant quoted him as telling Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Asked how Germany's top diplomat responded to hearing the Nazi Holocaust term for areas "cleansed of Jews," the confidant said, "What could he do? He basically just nodded."

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Israel's latest spin is that refusing to allow Jews to build homes on other people's property is "ethnic cleansing" against Jews.

Israel to Jump-start its Settlement Expansion

Israel is to allocate $ 250 million to further expand its settlements in the occupied West Bank territories over the next two years despite international objections.

The figure is contained in the 2009-2010 budget, which passed its first reading in the Knesset (parliament) last week, army radio said Sunday.

The move by the Knesset comes despite calls by the international community including Tel Aviv's staunch ally--Washington-- to Israel to halt its settlement expansion.

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Israel to U.S.: 'Stop Favoring Palestinians'

Tensions between Washington and Jerusalem are growing after the U.S. administration's demand that Israel completely freeze construction in all West Bank settlements. Israeli political officials expressed disappointment after Tuesday's round of meetings in London with George Mitchell, U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy to the Middle East.

"We're disappointed," said one senior official. "All of the understandings reached during the [George W.] Bush administration are worth nothing." Another official said the U.S. administration is refusing every Israeli attempt to reach new agreements on settlement construction. "The United States is taking a line of granting concessions to the Palestinians that is not fair toward Israel," he said. Advertisement


The Israeli officials attributed the unyielding U.S. stance to the speech Obama will make in Cairo this Thursday, in which he is expected to deliver a message of reconciliation to the Arab and Muslim worlds.

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Israel Begins New Settlement, Despite U.S. Opposition

Israel has moved ahead with a plan to build a new settlement in the northern West Bank for the first time in 26 years, pursuing a project the United States has already condemned as an obstacle to peace efforts.

The move comes on the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, despite Western calls for Israel to halt its settlement activity.

Tenders have been issued for 20 housing units in the new Maskiot settlement and contractors have arrived on site to begin foundation work.

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Israel Defies Global Demand Over Settlements

An Israeli interior ministry committee has called for the expansion of one of the largest settlements in the occupied West Bank, Israel's army radio reported.

The committee has declared in a report that the small settlement of Qedar should be integrated into the giant colony of Maale Adumim, along with the lands that lie between the two, AFP reported. The plan if implemented would add another 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) to Maale Adumim and add another 800 people to its current 34,500 residents.

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Israel Gives Green Light For Major Expansion of West Bank Settlements

Some 1,700 dunams of land in the northern part of Efrat were declared state land last week, paving the way for the West Bank settlement to start the process of seeking government approval to build there.The Civil Administration issued the declaration after rejecting eight appeals by Palestinians against the move. A ninth appeal was accepted, and the land covered by this appeal was consequently removed from Efrat's jurisdiction.

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