US State Department Spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday that the Biden administration “strongly opposes” Israel’s expansion of settlements “which damages the prospects for a two-state solution.”

“When it comes to what we’ve heard recently, we are deeply concerned about the Israeli government’s plan to advance thousands of settlement units tomorrow, Wednesday, many of them deep in the West Bank,” Price said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

“In addition, we’re concerned about the publication of tenders on Sunday for 1,300 settlement units in a number of West Bank settlements. We strongly oppose the expansion of settlements, which is completely inconsistent with efforts to lower tensions and to ensure calm, and it damages the prospects for a two-state solution. We have been consistent and clear in our statements to this effect. We also view plans for the retroactive legalization of illegal outposts as unacceptable. We continue to raise our views on this issue directly with senior Israeli officials in our private discussions.”

Jason Greenblatt, former Mideast envoy under President Trump, censured the Biden administration for its condemnation of Israel.

“Mistake on Biden Administration’s part,” he wrote on Twitter. “So-called ‘settlements’ -really neighborhoods/towns/cities-aren’t [the] reason there’s no peace. US should: stop using this as an excuse for why there’s no peace; stop comparing Israel and PA actions-they’re not the same. Also-nothing about Hamas??”

US Charge d’Affaires Michael Ratney spoke with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s diplomatic adviser Shimrit Meir about the issue, according to a senior diplomatic source quoted by Walla.

The report said that “it was a difficult conversation.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)