White House 'Dismayed' by Israeli Plans to Expand Jerusalem Settlement

The Obama administration said Tuesday that it was "dismayed" with Israel's plans to allow 900 housing units to be built in Gilo, a suburb of Jerusalem considered a settlement by the United Nations, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports. The units, which would attempt to attract wealthy residents, will be built across the "Green Line," a 1949 armistice border drawn around the edge of Jerusalem after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

"At a time when we are working to re-launch negotiations, these actions make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement. "Neither party should engage in efforts or take actions that could unilaterally pre-empt, or appear to pre-empt, negotiations. The U.S. also objects to other Israeli practices in Jerusalem related to housing, including the continuing pattern of evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes. Our position is clear: the status of Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the parties."

Moshe Ben Shushan, chairman of the Gilo community board, said the Obama administration's objections represented "a trend of interference in Israel's policies. I have never thought of Gilo as a settlement." Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said Tuesday that there was no point in negotiating while Israel expands Jewish neighborhoods in the part of Jerusalem the Palestinians want for their capital. Erekrat did, however, meet with senior Israeli officials on Tuesday.