By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL- On Friday, the Biden administration responded to reports that Israel’s far-right government is planning settlement expansion in Gaza, a U.S. official told the press. After far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced plans late Thursday to approve 3,000 new settlement homes after Israeli police said gunmen opened fire near the Maale Adumim settlement. Smotrich said expansion plans were part of “deepening our eternal grip on the entire Land of Israel.” A former Biden official called Smotrich’s statement “outrageous” after all the support the U.S. provided Israel. The official added: “For Smotrich to go and do this is just basically and F-you.” Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced at a news conference in Argentina on Friday that such expansion plans only weaken Israel’s security not strengthen it. Blinken also said: “Our administration maintains firm opposition to settlement expansion.” He also announced a reversal of the Trump administration’s position on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, relaying they are “inconsistent with international law.”
The White House also announced the decision after the reports about Israel’s far-right planning contrary moves to a two-state solution which is what the U.S., the EU and the international community have said is the only logical, secure path to peace for both Israelis and Palestinians. U.S. officials made clear that clarifying the administration’s position on settlements was previously researched and planned, as an additional measure in light of other recent measures taken recently to demonstrate Washington’s consternation with Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank. The Biden administration announced visa restrictions in December for settlers who use violence and undermine security in the West Bank. Reporters on the ground recorded numerous egregious incidents of Israeli settlers bullying, harassing Palestinians – even forcing them out of their homes. In February, President Biden issued and executive order authorizing financial sanctions against four named settlers. That was followed up a week later by a national security memorandum reminding recipients of U.S. weapons of the need to comply with U.S. and international law.
Photo : AA
