American Diplomats Touring Israeli Settlements

Wednesday November 25, 2009 20:43 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

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American diplomats are touring Israeli settlements in the occupied territories to gather information and meet settlement mayors and settlers.

The diplomats will be touring different Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and also intend to talk to different settlers. The tours aim at having a closer look and better understanding of the issue, Israeli paper, Maariv, reported.

They began their tour in a meeting with Oded Ravivi, head of Efrat Regional Council, and a number of settlers.

The new move comes one week after U.S President, Barack Obama, slammed Israel’s plan to expand Gilo settlement, north of Bethlehem.

Obama said that settlement activities do not help Israel in maintaining its security, and cause further complications to the peace process.

He told the Fox News that settlements lead to further violence, but did not mention any step to counter the issue.

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated recently that he will not engage in peace talks with Israel unless it halts all of its settlement activities.

west bank | israeli settlement | feature saed at imemc dot org