Obama ‘dismayed’ by more Israeli expansion

A White House spokesman on Wednesday condemned a decision by the Israeli government to proceed with settlement expansion in Jerusalem.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the administration is “dismayed” by the Jerusalem Planning Committee’s decision, which moved “forward on the approval process for the expansion of Gilo in Jerusalem.” Gilo is a neighborhood in Eastern Jerusalem.

Gibbs said the move would hamper future peace negotiations in the Middle East the administration is trying to move forward.

“At a time when we are working to re-launch negotiations, these actions make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed,” Gibbs said in a statement issued from China, where President Barack Obama is visiting.

Palestinians have said a halt to settlement expansion is a precondition to starting peace talks.

Israel moved forward with the settlement despite urgings by the U.S.

The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said President Barack Obama’s envoy to the region, George Mitchell, had asked an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at a meeting in London on Monday, to block the proposed construction at the settlement of Gilo.

Gibbs said that neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians “should engage in efforts or take actions that could unilaterally pre-empt, or appear to pre-empt, negotiations.”

He added that the president also “objects to other Israeli practices in Jerusalem related to housing, including the continuing pattern of evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes.”

“Our position is clear: the status of Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the parties,” Gibbs said.