State Department criticizes Israel's plan to expand 'illegal' West Bank settlements and says they 'damage' possibility of a two-state solution
- The Biden administration issued some of its most forceful condemnation of Israel's West Bank settlements yet during a Tuesday State Department briefing
- Biden officials also privately signaled discontent in a call to Israeli PM's team
- Israel announced tenders for more than 1,300 homes in the West Bank
- It's also planning to construct 3,000 new homes in the disputed territory
The Biden administration issued its most forceful public condemnation of Israel's West Bank settlements yet on Tuesday, when State Department spokesman Ned Price compared them to 'illegal outposts' in remarks to reporters.
Price said the US government will 'strongly oppose' such expansion on occupied Palestinian land.
The Biden official's criticism was some of the strongest in years on Israel after previous leader Donald Trump gave his blessing to settlements and annexations.
'We are deeply concerned about the Israeli government's plan to advance thousands of settlement units,' Price said at a State Department briefing.
'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,' he said.
'We also view plans for the retroactive legalization of illegal outposts as unacceptable.'
Ned Price compared Israel's settlements in the West Bank to 'illegal outposts'
Price stopped short of saying the decision would jeopardize relations with Israel but said that the United States was raising the issue with its close ally.
The housing and construction ministry under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a right-winger close to the settlement movement who leads a coalition with centrists, on Sunday announced tenders for 1,355 homes in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War.
Authorities are also expected to discuss proposals for an additional 3,000 homes on land Palestinians have claimed for their future state, Reuters reported.
If approved it will be the first formal expansion in the region since President Joe Biden took office.
Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh had urged Washington to 'confront' Israel on its 'aggression' through the settlements.
Biden officials have also privately objected to the construction of 3,000 new homes, Axios reported on Tuesday.
This picture taken on July 16, 2021 shows a view of the Israeli settlement of Efrat on the southern outskirts of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank
Sources told the outlet that a phone call between Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Israel Michael Ratney and Bennett foreign policy aide Shimrit Meir was 'difficult' following the announcement of the expansion.
Ratney's strongest objection was reportedly over new construction
Price's tone on Tuesday was consistent with past warnings to Israeli officials.
On Friday, he said: 'We are concerned about the announcement of a meeting next week to advance settlement units deep in the West Bank, and believe it is critical for Israel and the Palestinian Authority to refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tension and undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution.'
Palestine's Foreign Affairs Ministry warned the same day that Israel's actions will have a 'catastrophic impact' on future peace talks.
US-facilitated negotiations between Israel and Palestinian authorities fell apart in 2014.
Biden officials issued their strongest public rebuke of Israel's settlements yet (pictured: Biden meeting new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett)
Settlement construction boomed when Trump was US president. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu capitalized on his close relationship with the Republican leader
When Trump was president, the West Bank saw an Israeli construction boom with more than 9,000 new homes built, according to anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now.
The Trump administration, which was backed by evangelical Christians who see biblical reasons for supporting a Jewish homeland, revised longstanding State Department guidance and said it did not consider settlements illegal.
It was a sharp shift from the previous Democratic administration of Barack Obama who faced open criticism from Israel's veteran right-wing prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly over US diplomacy with Iran.
In one of its last acts, the Obama administration declined to exercise the routine US veto at the UN Security Council and allowed a resolution against Israeli settlements to pass through.
According to the group 63 percent of the homes built during Trump's last year as US president were in outlying settlements that would likely be evacuated in any peace agreement.
Israel's West Bank settlements are largely seen as illegal by the global community.
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