US Slams Netanyahu after He Equates Opposition to Settlements with Ethnic Cleansing

Local Editor

Obama administration on Friday blasted new comments by "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he said critics of "Israel's" settlement expansion in the West Bank are advocating the "ethnic cleansing".

Using unusually forceful language to criticize a longstanding ally, the State Department said it was protesting Netanyahu's comments directly to his government. It was not clear if US officials believe Netanyahu was referring to them in the comments.

"Yet the Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian state with one precondition: no Jews," Netanyahu claimed in a video he posted on Facebook. "There's a phrase for that. It's called ethnic cleansing."

He added that he had "always been perplexed" that critics viewed settlements as an obstacle to peace.

Palestinian Authority has demanded a halt to settlement construction as a condition to resuming talks, which have been essentially stalled for years.

Asked about Netanyahu's video, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau cited broad international consensus that regards settlements as an "obstacle to peace."

"We obviously strongly disagree with the characterization that those who oppose settlement activity or view it as an obstacle to peace are somehow calling for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the West Bank," Trudeau said. "We believe that using that type of terminology is inappropriate and unhelpful."

She criticized "Israel's" "dramatic escalation" of the demolition of Palestinian homes and structures, leaving hundreds without shelter. ""Israel" has also retroactively "legalized" unauthorized remote settler outposts and seized additional West Bank land for exclusive "Israeli" use, she said.

"We have repeatedly expressed our strong concerns that trends on the ground continue to move in the opposite direction" of a two-state solution, Trudeau said.
"Israel's" actions "raise real questions about 'Israel's' long-term intentions in the West Bank."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team