US warns settlements harm Israel's democratic future

Washington // The United States rebuked Israel on Wednesday for approving more settlement building on Palestinian land, and warned its ally it is endangering its own future as a democratic Jewish state.

In a strongly worded statement, the state department said Israel’s approval of 300 housing units in the West Bank “is another step towards cementing a one state reality of perpetual occupation.”

The plan, spokesman Mark Toner argued, not only undermines hopes for peace with the Palestinians but “is fundamentally inconsistent with Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state.”

Washington has long opposed Israel’s policy of building Jewish settlements on land in the West Bank that would be claimed by the Palestinians in any negotiated “two state” peace deal.

The latest Israeli plan, Mr Toner said, would see settlers build 300 housing units on land “far closer to Jordan than Israel ... and make the possibility of a viable Palestinian state more remote.”

He added that Israel’s retroactive authorisation of illegal outposts “contradicts previous public statements by the government of Israel that it had no intention of creating new settlements.”

In recent weeks, US officials have adopted a more forceful tone with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, accusing it of recklessly accelerating the programme despite international concern.

In July, the Middle East Quartet — a contact group comprising the United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations — issued a report calling on Israel to halt settlement building.

But since then, Washington says, the practice has only accelerated, with new housing blocks being approved, local administrative boundaries moved and illegal settlements retroactively approved.

President Barack Obama’s White House has taken a tougher tone with Netanyahu’s government, despite also signing off on a ten-year, US$38 billion (Dh140bn) package of military aid for Israel.

*Agence France-Presse