The Biden administration is discussing additional steps in response to Israel's announcement of plans to expand settlements in the occupied territories of the West Bank, Axios reported, citing unnamed US officials
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2023) The Biden administration is discussing additional steps in response to Israel's announcement of plans to expand settlements in the occupied territories of the West Bank, Axios reported, citing unnamed US officials.
On Tuesday, Foreign Ministers of France, Italy, Germany, the UK and US State Secretary opposed the Israeli government's plans to build settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
A high-ranking US official told Axios that the Biden administration's public statements were only the first stage of its response, adding that discussions about the next steps to clarify the stance against the new settlements were underway.
Israeli and US officials told the US-based news website that prior to the announcement on expansion, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer had several conversations with US Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk and US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides. McGurk and Nides were persistently opposing the settlement plans and made it clear that the Biden administration is against any legalization of outposts and will not approve any new houses in Palestine, US officials told Axious.
Another senior Israeli official said Dermer told his US colleagues that the legalization of outposts was part of the coalition agreement. At the same time, according to the official, far-right associates of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the coalition insisted on the approval of 14,000 housing units and the legalization of 20 outposts.
On Monday, the Israeli government announced a decision to legalize nine outposts in the West Bank and initiate the project on construction of 10,000 houses for Jewish settlers in what most of the UN members consider occupied Palestinian land.
