U.S. Hardens Stand on Settlements
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WASHINGTON — U.S. policy has hardened against new Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, and the United States will no longer defend Israeli expansion before the United Nations, a senior Administration official said Wednesday.
The official, speaking with United Press International on the condition he not be identified, defined what he said is a difference between the Bush Administration and past administrations: “We will not, we cannot, support further establishment of settlements, and they (the Israelis) shouldn’t expect us to support or defend them in the United Nations. I’m not sure that’s been done before.”
The Reagan Administration, while criticizing settlements as “an obstacle to peace,” did not actively oppose them.
The Israeli government, saying that further settlements are necessary for the security of the state, has announced the establishment of two new settlements in the last two weeks.
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