White House "Dismayed" By Israeli Settlement Expansion

The Israeli daily Yedioth Achronoth today reported that US Special Envoy George Mitchell demanded on Monday that Israel not approve new construction in the Gilo section of East Jerusalem (i.e., area Israel occupied in the 1967 war).

According to the newspaper, Mitchell told the Israeli Attorney General, Yitzhak Molcho, that he "had obtained information about plans by the Jerusalem municipality to approve the construction of a new residential area in the Gilo neighborhood."

Mitchell demanded that "Netanyahu take action to prevent construction approval from being given, arguing that it would severely impede--if not derail altogether--a resumption of the negotiations with the Palestinians." 

A few hours after the Mitchell demand was publicized, Israeli officials approved plans for the construction. Ha'aretz reports that the plan "will account for a significant expansion of the neighborhood. The planned 900 housing unites [sic] will be built in the form of 4-5 bedroom apartments, in an effort to lure relatively well-off residents."

The White House responded swiftly to the Israeli decision to move ahead with the Gilo development.  In a statement, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said:

We are dismayed at the Jerusalem Planning Committee's decision to move forward on the approval process for the expansion of Gilo in Jerusalem. At a time when we are working to re-launch negotiations, these actions make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed. 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.

(Yedioth story translated from the Hebrew).