Obama: Israel’s latest move on settlements embitters Palestinians, makes goal of peace harder
By APWednesday, November 18, 2009
Obama criticizes new Israeli move on settlements
BEIJING — President Barack Obama says Israel’s latest move to build hundreds of new apartments in a neighborhood claimed by the Palestinians complicates administration efforts to relaunch peace talks and embitters the Palestinians.
Obama told Fox News in an interview Wednesday that additional settlement building doesn’t make Israel safer. He said such moves make it harder to achieve peace in the region, and embitters the Palestinians in a way that he said could be very dangerous.
Obama and the Palestinians have demanded that Israel halt settlement construction.
The Jerusalem city government moved forward Tuesday with plans to build in a Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim for their future capital.
(This version CORRECTS the first sentence to say apartments instead of settlements))
