2009 President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu Debate On Settlement Freeze
In June 2009 Netanyahu announced Israel's acceptance of the Road Map while simultaneously rejecting a settlement freeze which is a main Israeli requirement under the Road Map In rejecting President Obama's call for a settlement freeze Netanyahu also claimed that settlement expansion, so called "natural growth", was needed to allow settlers to raise families by moving to new larger houses rather than move to existing houses either elsewhere in the Occupied Territories or in Israel itself. In June 2009 the construction of 300 new houses in the West Bank was announced by Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Most of these "new" houses were already built or in the process of completion. The Defense Minister's permit for construction was just another layer on top of those already given earlier. In November 2009 Netanyahu announced a 10-month settlement freeze that excluded East Jerusalem, public buildings and projects already under way. In September 2010 Netanyahu confirmed that this partial settlement freeze would not be extended beyond September 26 and Israel would resume its previous stance of rejecting its settlement freeze Road Map obligation. Netanyau "vowed to ensure" that the Palestinians would comply with their respective Road Map commitments and refrain from acts of violence such as firing missiles at Israel.
Read more about this topic: Road Map For Peace
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