published Feb 2nd 2017, 5:43 pm, by Joe Sobczyk

(Bloomberg) —
The Trump administration told the Israeli government that building new settlements in disputed territory in the West Bank will hurt attempts to reach a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

“While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in a statement released Thursday night in Washington.

Spicer said the administration “has not taken an official position on settlement activity.”

The statement was released after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would erect Israel’s first new settlement in a quarter-century and build thousands of homes across the West Bank. Israeli authorities this week, acting on a ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court, evacuated an unsanctioned settler outpost at Amona, a hilltop near the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

Just weeks before he took office, Trump blasted the Obama administration’s decision not to block a United Nations Security Council resolution criticizing Israel’s settlements policy and he promised to be more supportive of the Jewish state.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Sobczyk in Washington at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Gordon at cgordon39@bloomberg.net Kevin Whitelaw

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