WASHINGTON — The Obama administration criticized Israel on Tuesday for adding a new hurdle to the resumption of moribund Mideast peace talks, calling the Jewish state’s announcement of 1,100 new housing units in east Jerusalem “counterproductive” to American efforts to foster new talks and head off a Palestinian bid for U.N. recognition.
Fresh off a week of difficult international lobbying for Israel, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Israel and the Palestinians should “avoid any kind of action which could undermine trust” and noted the sensitivity of expanded settlement construction in east Jerusalem, where the Palestinians hope to establish the capital of their future state. Yet she urged each government to focus on the larger picture of a Middle East peace agreement after six decades of conflict.
“This morning’s announcement by the government of Israel,” Clinton said, “is counterproductive to our efforts to resume negotiations between the parties.”
The White House added that it was “deeply disappointed” by the Israeli decision.
“Each side in the dispute between the Palestinians and Israelis should take steps that bring them closer to direct negotiations to resolve the issues that stand in the way of Palestinian statehood and a secure Jewish state of Israel,” spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One. “When either side takes unilateral action that makes it harder to achieve that, we make our views known.”
Israel’s Interior Ministry said the homes would be built in Gilo, a sprawling Jewish enclave in southeast Jerusalem, and construction could begin in two months. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out any freeze in settlement construction, a key demand of Palestinians to returning to talks, raising tensions and challenging the U.S. and other international mediators further after last week’s Palestinian move to seek recognition as a state and a seat in the United Nations.
The announcement drew swift condemnation from the Palestinians, along with the European Union and United Nations, who along with Russia have been working with the U.S. to head off the diplomatic crisis at the U.N.
Standing alongside Clinton, Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Portas called for renewed talks on the basis of parameters laid down last week by the so-called “quartet” of mediators. But he acknowledged that Israel’s move Tuesday amounted to a setback.
“When you have a real chance (for) negotiations, you avoid hostile measures to negotiations,” Portas told reporters at the State Department. “The settlement decision is not a good one.”
Portugal, one of 15 U.N. Security Council members, would however “consider an upgrade of the Palestinian position in the United Nations as a sign of goodwill to negotiate,” he said.
Fiercely opposed by Israel and the U.S., the membership bid needs at least nine votes to succeed and no vetoes. Washington has pledged to veto the resolution if it comes to a vote, yet has hoped to avoid such a scenario by enlisting other countries against the Palestinian plan and diverting attention back toward negotiations after almost a year-long hiatus.
Expressing some frustration, Clinton said “we have been here before, over many years.”
But she said the difficulties in making progress on a two-state agreement “only reinforces (that) our focus must remain working to convince the parties to return to direct negotiations.”
“In the absence of direct negotiations, nothing changes on the ground,” Clinton said. “If there are negotiations that delineate borders, questions of where anybody builds are settled. But in the absence of such negotiations, there are going to continue to be perceptions on both sides that the other side is not willing to negotiate.”