The United States criticized Israel on Monday for allowing the return of settlers to an abandoned West Bank outpost.
In a brief press conference, US State department Spokesman Matthew Miller noted that the US is “deeply troubled by the Israeli government’s recent order that allowed citizens to establish a permanent presence in the Homesh outpost in the northern West Bank, which, according to Israeli law, was illegally built on private Palestinian land.” The statement went on to say, “this order is inconsistent with both former Prime Minister Sharon’s written commitment to the Bush administration in 2004 and, significantly, the current Israeli government’s commitments to the Biden administration.” “With respect to your question about communications with the Israeli government, of course we engage with our Israeli counterparts on a number of levels all the time. I’m not going to get into speaking specifically about the contents of those communications, “And I will say, with respect to the letters, our view has been clear and consistent, that the expansion of settlements undermines the geographic viability of a two state solution.” Miller added, “it exacerbates tensions. It further harms trust between the two parties, and that is consistent with the views of previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican, including the views expressed in that exchange of letters”.
“Our position has been clear and consistent across administrations.”
Source: Kuwait News Agency