Report: U.S. changes stance on settlement construction [View All]

[Gimel]

The New York Times on Saturday quoted American and Israeli officials as saying that the Bush administration has changed its stance on Israeli construction in the West Bank, and now supports building in existing settlements, although not in undeveloped areas.

The paper says that this new U.S. policy, although not publicly declared, was illustrated in the American response Tuesday to the invitation for tenders for the construction of some 1,000 new apartments in West Bank settlements.

A White House spokesman said Tuesday that the tenders were being studied and that it was not possible to determine whether the commitments had been violated.

The American national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice, said two days later that the Israeli government had been asked to "let us know what it is that they are doing."

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