Praise for Netanyahu's Settlement position

United States Praises Israeli Settlement Moratorium
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month announced a 10-month West Bank settlement moratorium. The United States praised the unprecedented move, but the Palestinian Authority persists in its refusal to negotiate with Israel until a number of preconditions are met.

Clinton Calls Israeli Actions “Unprecedented”
A few weeks before Netanyahu’s official announcement of the moratorium, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Jerusalem and praised unilateral Israeli concessions on settlement construction as “unprecedented.” She also emphasized that a complete settlement freeze was never, and should never be, a precondition for Israeli-Palestinian talks.

“[Settlements have] always been an issue with negotiations,” Clinton said. “What the prime minister has offered in specifics of a restraint on the policy of settlements which he has just described—no new starts, for example—is unprecedented in the context of prior to negotiations.”

The Arab world was furious with Clinton’s praise of Israel, particularly her use of the word “unprecedented.” But Clinton did not retract her remarks. Speaking in Morocco two days after her visit to Jerusalem, the secretary of state said that Netanyahu’s offer of “restraint” on settlements would have a “significant and meaningful effect” on limiting settlement construction in the West Bank. BACK TO TOP

State Department Praises Israeli Decision
After Netanyahu officially announced the 10-month settlement moratorium on Nov. 25, Clinton again reacted positively. She said the Israeli gesture “helps move forward toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Mitchell also praised Netanyahu’s decision. In a State Department briefing, Mitchell said the settlement moratorium was “more than any Israeli government has done before” and said the move could “help move toward agreement between the parties.”

“For the first time ever,” Mitchell said, “an Israeli government will stop housing approvals and all new construction of housing units and related infrastructure in West Bank settlements. That’s a positive development.”