U.S. critical of Israel on West Bank settlement

WASHINGTON – In a rare criticism, the Bush administration said Wednesday that if Israel proceeds with construction of a settlement on the West Bank it would violate its peacemaking obligations.

But defending its construction plan, a spokesman for the Israeli embassy said "the settlement is not a new one." It was legally established in 1982, housed an army unit and a school and has had civilians living there for several years, said spokesman David Siegel. The plan is to build within the confines of the existing settlement, he said.

A State Department spokesman, Gonzalo R. Gallegos, said, "The U.S. calls on Israel to meet its road map obligations and avoid taking steps that could be viewed as predetermining the outcome of future negotiations."

"The establishment of a new settlement or the expansion of any existing settlement would violate Israel's obligations under the road map," he said.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/nation_world/story.asp?ID=166357

The Bush administration will do exactly.............what? Nothing, as always. We may as well annex Israel as a state. No, wait. They get better treatment than our states (see: Louisiana), why would they want to do that?