Marking New Era, Trump Administration Avoids Condemning Israeli Settlement Expansion
Setting a new tone in its relationship with Israel, the Trump administration passed on an opportunity to criticize Israel for its latest settlement expansion plan.
While previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican, have consistently condemned new Israeli building in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the Trump White House made no such comment.
Asked about the latest [Israeli announcement[(https://forward.com/fast-forward/360988/with-trump-in-power-israel-gives-green-light-to-huge-settlement-expansion/) regarding its intention to build 2,500 new housing units in existing settlements, White House press secretary refused to state any position.
“We will have a conversation with the prime minister,” said Sean Spicer during his Tuesday press briefing, adding that Israel “continues to be a huge ally”.
Barack Obama’s administration repeatedly criticized similar decisions by the Israeli government, describing them as an “obstacle for peace” and as steps that “put into question” Israel’s commitment to a two state solution because new building in the settlements prejudges the outcome of any future negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
During the presidential campaign, Trump’s advisers made clear he will adopt a relaxed approach on settlement expansion.
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected]
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO