Global Arab Network | US urges Israel to stop settlement expansion

Translate this article to your language:

GANPublications

e-Publications

Add Site to Favorites

Add Page to Favorites

Make Homepage

Share This Page

RSS Feed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |

US urges Israel to stop settlement expansion

U.S. President Barack Obama urged Israel to freeze Jewish settlement expansion, reiterating Washington's support for establishing a Palestinian state.

Obama said that "stopping settlements" was part of Israel's responsibility under the 2002 "roadmap" peace agreement and again committed to a two-state solution to the conflict.

"I'm a strong believer in a two-state solution," Obama said at the White House on Thursday alongside Abbas.

Obama praised Abbas for his work toward a unity government, saying he was impressed with the Palestinian leader's insistence that the government follow principles proffered by the Middle East Quartet -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations -- involved in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Abbas, meeting Obama for the first time since the US president took the office in January, said that he had shared ideas with Obama based on the roadmap and the 2002 Saudi peace plan backed by the Arab league.

Speaking to reporters with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after their meeting, Obama said he would "assume the best" about Israel's position on the two-state solution, especially since his discussions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu "only took place last week."

Abbas said that, during the meeting, he and Obama discussed the necessity of a two-state solution and of stopping Israeli settlement activity in Gaza and the West Bank.

Abbas also held separate talks with Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state.

The meeting came shortly after the US issued one of its strongest calls yet to Israel to halt the building of settlements on Palestinian land.

In remarks on Wednesday Clinton said that Obama "was very clear" when Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, visited the White House last week that "he wants to see a stop to settlements. Not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions".

Obama's hard message to Israel came a day after the Netanyahu-led government dismissed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's call to freeze all Jewish settlement activities in the West Bank.

President Obama also urged the Palestinian side to stop anti-Israel violence and incitement, which the Palestinians have committed to do under a 2003 Road map peace initiative. "I'm a strong believer in a two-state solution," said the president, adding that he was confident that the peace process could be moved forward if all the parties will meet the obligations that they've committed to do.

Amnesty: Israel repeatedly violated rules of war

Amnesty International has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the laws of armed conflict during the three-week Israeli forces offensive in the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009. The London-based organization said in its annual report, formally released yesterday, that 1,400 Palestinians died in the offensive — including 300 children — and that 5000 people were wounded.

The Amnesty report accuses Israeli soldiers of violating the laws of armed conflict over and over again by directly attacking civilians and civilian structures and by causing an immeasurable number of civilian casualties when attacking Palestinian fighters.

It also mentions Israel’s justification for the offensive: that it attacked Gaza to prevent war and to stop armed Palestinians from shelling cities and towns in southern Israel with rockets. The report goes on to detail that three Israeli civilians were killed during the Gaza operation, adding to seven Israeli civilians killed by home-made rockets and other Palestinian attacks launched from Gaza in 2008.

According to the Amnesty report, the sudden conflict came following a period of a year-and-a-half in which the Israeli forces imposed an uncompromising blockade on the residents of Gaza, which almost completely prevented the movement of people and goods into the Gaza Strip and led to a humanitarian crisis. (Xinhua, ABC, UPI, AP)

Global Arab Network‎

Add comment

The opinions of the authors in articles published are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Arab Network
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published comments are the opinions of private individuals and do not reflect the views of Global Arab Network