WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Trump administration again said that Israel’s settlement expansion does not help the peace process.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert at a media briefing Tuesday spoke about the development of more Israeli settlements in response to a reporter’s inquiry.
The report asked Nauert, “If the Israeli government would stop building settlements or would issue a freeze at the present time, that would help accelerate the process, correct?”
Nauert responded, “The president has been clear all along – his position on this has not changed – and that is that we see settlements as something that does not help the peace process.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a new policy earlier this year to curb settlement building in the West Bank, acceding to President Donald Trump’s wishes, but Jewish settlement building has continued.
The State Department statement came on the eve of a visit to Israel by Trump’s point man on the peace process, Jared Kushner, who with his team hopes to renew Israeli-Palestinian talks.
In Israel, Kushner met with the family of an Israeli border policewoman killed by a Palestinian terrorist.
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