Once again, the Obama administration is speaking out against planned Israeli construction in Yerushalayim, this time 600 housing units in Pisgat Ze’ev, which the White House and Department of State regard as “occupied East Jerusalem”.
In the latest criticism, State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley released a statement calling the planned construction “counter-productive” during a time in which efforts continue “to re-launch meaningful negotiations”, adding the move “undermines trust between the parties”.
The statements come in response to final government approval for the plan.
“We have seen reports that plans for 600 housing units in Pisgat Ze’ev in East Jerusalem, originally deposited in 2008, have advanced in the approval process, although we understand that the total number of units has been reduced from the original plan.
“We also understand that this is not a final approval for the project, but it is a step in that direction. The Palestinians insist they will only return to the negotiating table if Israel agrees to a complete freeze on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
“We continue to urge both parties to refrain from unilateral actions that, whether intended to or not, undermine trust and efforts to resume negotiations that will bring an end to the conflict and result in a two-state solution. We believe it is of great importance that negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians resume as soon as possible.”
Interestingly, the US continues to pressure Israel to comply with demands from the PA despite the realization that to date, the PA has fallen short of all its commitments, not complying with signed treaties regarding halting terrorism, the ongoing desecration of Israeli holy sites in PA (Palestinian Authority) autonomous areas, continuing with an educational curriculum teaching hate for Israel and Jews, and ongoing support for terrorism as a means towards accomplishing PA goals.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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6 Responses
Presidents come and go with some being more sympathetic to Jewish causes and some less sympathetic, but…
The State Department is an institution unto itself that has, since (at least) pre-World War 2, been virulently anti-Semitic.
Never expect anything else from them.
Even Secretarys of State who come into the position neutral on the issue, end up drinking the kool-aid and taking the State Dept.’s anti-Semitic view before long.
The United States has NEVER recognized Israeli ownership of any part of Jerusalem, and certainly not over the parts that didn’t come under Israeli control in 1967. That is why every president, from Truman through and including Obama, has insisted on putting the American embassy in Tel Aviv rather than Jerusalem. It is hardly a issue of the State Department’s bias. In practice, virtually no country recognizes Israeli sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem.
The United States uses Israel and does smiling photo ops from time to time, but they do with with every country and with former terrorists like arafat (ys).
In my experience, whether the president is Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, or Obama, the song remains the same: Israel struggles with little help from it’s demanding ally, America.
Everyone of those mentioned presidents, other than, say, Ford, have sent our military to protect the interests of other allied countries, but never the one suffering the most conflict; Israel.
In fact, Bush II’s introduction of the idea of splitting up Jerusalem, with his conferences held in Bethesda, MD., refusing to help Israel with it’s concern regarding Iranian nukes, especially after using Israel for a stealth Syrian mission, and the refusal to release pollard, has to date been the biggest betrayal. And while Obama does not care about Isreali interests, he is doing us a favor by putting half effort into events over there.
Aw your Rotteness, do your Saudi and other Arabian peninsula benefactors object to the Jews living in more spacious abodes? My heart bleeds borscht!
Clinton if you do not like to see the jews build up our land of yisrael you can take your goverment and get out of our country now please leave the sooner the better and take along our good arabs
a real belly laugh- the comments of apukerma and moshiachnow01- trying very hard to run interference for the most anti-israel (and, I suspect, anti-semitic) adminstration- i mean the obama clique.
Whether the US recognizes Jewish Jerusalem or not, is absolutely and totally irrelevant. What si relevant are FACTS. There is no reason for the administration to come out and criticize EVERY move that israel makes in its own country. You can – in diploamtic language- also ” note’ of certain moves or be “concerned” about it without calling it “countr-productive’ etc….
IN actual fact, obama is pro-arab, as simple as that. all you have to do is read his so-called “seminal” speech in cairo and resd his statements on israel.
to number 3- to call obama a better freind of israel than president bush is standing the truth on its head. and you better tell us where bush II ‘introduced the splitting of jerusalem’, “refusing to deal with iranina nukes”. Actually, it is obama who has done all that and more..to damage israel….