Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., June 02, 2009 Sivan 10, 5769 | | Israel Time: 18:52 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Focus U.S.A. Travel Week's End Anglo File
Comments:  19
Last update - 21:43 19/05/2009
Clinton tells Netanyahu: Israel must cease settlement activity
By Natasha Mozgavaya, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel News 

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that she had made clear to visiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must cease its settlement activity in the West Bank.

"The president [Barack Obama] was very clear yesterday in his statement that he wants to see a stop to the settlements," Clinton told reporters, a day after she and Obama met with Netanyahu in Washington.

"I hosted a dinner for Prime Minister Netanyahu later in the day at the State Department and we reiterated that that is the position and policy of the United States government."
Advertisement
A key Palestinian official demanded Tuesday that Obama follow up his tough talk with Netanyahu and force Israel to stop settlement construction and accept creation of a Palestinian state.

Without action to reinforce Obama's words, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat warned the whole region could deteriorate into extremism and instability. That message was echoed by Netanyahu's political rivals in Israel who called the meeting a failure and stressed that peace was impossible without establishing a Palestinian state.

"Failing to follow through would mean closing the peace chapter and pushing the region into the hands of extremists," Erekat said.

Israel this week 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 came on the eve of Netanyahu's first meeting with Obama and amid Western calls for Israel to halt its settlement activity.

Tenders were issued last week for 20 housing units in the new Maskiot settlement and contractors arrived on site Sunday to begin foundation work.

The initiative began three years ago, under the auspices of then-defense minister Amir Peretz, who promised to transform a former army outpost into a permanent settlement for evacuees from the Gaza Strip. The move was then frozen due to American insistence.

The former U.S. administration of George W. Bush had termed the Maskiot project unhelpful. Washington has pressed Israel since 2006 to halt the project, which it says is in violation of the peace "road map" for a Palestinian state beside Israel.

Related articles:
  • Netanyahu: Israel ready for immediate peace talks
  • Israel begins new settlement, despite U.S. opposition
  • Israel and U.S. agree on need to stop Iran nuclear program
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Obama's chutzpah
    That Barack Obama. He just entered the White House and already has something to say.
    Hungary's war on Jews
    Hungarian police newsletter tells 'homeland lovers' that anti-Semitism is a natural right.
      1.   Obama cringed passively 22:23  |  Dave 19/05/09
      2.   to Obama cringed passively 23:39  |  Harold 19/05/09
      3.   answer to dave 23:57  |  proud american 19/05/09
      4.   The settlements must stop 01:18  |  Adrian de Klerk 20/05/09
      5.   The Future Is Sealed 01:37  |  leo 20/05/09
      6.   us must cease settlement activity 01:39  |  go west, go rest? 20/05/09
      7.   Israel to Clinton: America must deport all her 02:14  |  MMM 20/05/09
      8.   Settlement in th entire USA must stop! 02:47  |  sheik ubdal abdallah 20/05/09
      9.   It`s just one big shell game, isn`t it.... 03:50  |  Johnboy 20/05/09
      10.   Where is Maskiot 03:51  |  Glenn Richter 20/05/09
      11.   #2 Yeah, you did, Adrian 03:52  |  Johnboy 20/05/09
      12.   #8 LOL, that is fairly new 04:33  |  Doug 20/05/09
      13.   Netanyahu vs Clinton 04:57  |  Brod 20/05/09
      14.   settlements 05:49  |  bob 20/05/09
      15.   Jewish land 05:52  |  bob 20/05/09
      16.   Did not her husband, the president, say exactly 06:10  |  Mark Lincoln 20/05/09
      17.   # 1 the proof will be in the pudding, dave 07:27  |  eric 20/05/09
      18.   # 5 this thought MAY not have occurred to you, mmm 07:59  |  eric 21/05/09
      19.   #16 I don`t think he did, Mark Lincoln 04:23  |  Johnboy 22/05/09
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    hotel Jerusalem
    David Citadel Hotel, come stay at the finest of Jerusalem hotels.
    ISRAEL ARMY SURPLUS STORE
    IDF insignia,Uniforms, Paladium Boots Watches, Israel Army T-shirts & Collectibles
    Dead Sea Skin Care
    Quality cosmetics from the Dead Sea. Coupon code HAARETZ for 12% off!
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
     Haaretz Hot Topics
    The Pope in the Holy Land
    Durban II conference
    Iran: Nuclear and regional ambitions
    Israel vs. Hamas
    Air strike in Sudan
    More Headlines
    18:02 Obama dispatches envoy to Israel to discuss settlements
    17:38 Obama: U.S. will be 'honest' with Israel on settlements
    17:24 Russia FM: We'll demand Iran nuclear program stays civilian
    18:05 GM as parable, and Israel's sudden choice: Obama or Kahane
    17:28 Gunman kills Arab, wounds Jew in Jerusalem shootings
    16:55 Israel's Bar Refaeli poses naked for Esquire cover
    18:50 Report: 80% of Arab communities not prepared for crisis situation
    20:58 WATCH: Daily news round-up from Israel
    17:22 Shi'ite politician challenging Hezbollah in Lebanon
    18:38 Preparations for Obama visit in full force in Egypt
    18:04 Jewish ghetto survivors from Holocaust win German pensions
    18:43 Sirens sound across Israel in state's largest civilian drill
    17:03 Entertainer Dudu Topaz admits orchestrating attacks on TV execs
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
    | Israel 2009 election results | Makom: Engaging on Israel
    | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved