Obama Reiterates Stance On Israeli Settlements

[Douglas Carpenter]

NPR: Obama Reiterates Stance On Israeli Settlements

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro and Steve Inskeep

LINK:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104859740&ft=1&f=1004

June 3, 2009 · President Obama has told Israel, again, that it should stop the growth of settlements on the West Bank. Before leaving on a tour of the Mideast and Europe, Obama met in Washington with Israel's defense minister. Israel wants to be allowed to continue expansion in large settlement blocks.

listen to NPR report (audio 4min. 33 seconds)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104859740&ft=1&f=1004

Obama meets Israeli defense minister
from The Associated Press

snip:"Obama and Ehud Barak each left the White House in disagreement over Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory that have become a symbol of defiance against Palestinians who want their own state. Barak asked Obama to consider Israel's domestic politics and the popularity of such outposts, an Israeli official said.

The Israeli official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

Barak, a former Israeli prime minister who came close to a peace deal during President Bill Clinton's administration, met for two hours with Obama's national security adviser, Gen. Jim Jones, about their countries' public disagreement. Obama surprised Barak and joined the meeting for 12 minutes.

Obama repeated his call for Israel to stop settling on land Palestinians want for their own state. Israeli leaders have refused a wholesale end to the settlements, citing a growing population's needs to expand.

snip:"Obama does not plan to visit Israel, a stalwart ally that has heard the demands from the new U.S. president and his top officials. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington last month, Obama pushed him to halt settlements; Netanyahu returned to Israel and announced settlements would not stop.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104859740&ft=1&f=1004

[Inuca]

1. Good, he should do that

continuing the settlement policy makes a very bad situation even worse. It makes it increasingly difficult to untangle the horribly tangled web that is the israeli-palestinian situation.

PS: Barack meets Barak, confusing :-).

[HamdenRice]

2. I don't understand Ehud. He was the foremost proponent of disentangling WB/G and Israel

and now he's going to bat for Nutty-yahoo?

I suspect that there was more than a wink and a nod in the private conversation between Ehud Barak and Barak Obama.

[Scurrilous]

3. K & R

:thumbsup:

[newinnm]

4. Dont we have enought to worry about on this side of the pond?