Trust Me, Obama Means Business on Settlements

Israeli leaders say they’re bewildered by the Obama administration’s “obsession” with West Bank settlement growth. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recently quoted asking (or grumbling) “what do they want from me?” His aides told reporters and American Jewish leaders that Washington’s position on settlements is “childish,” “stupid” and “delusional” and that the Obama team should “come to its senses.”

I don’t think that Netanyahu and his aides are genuinely perplexed or mystified by the administration’s demand that Israel stop all settlement construction in the West Bank. They know why settlements are an obstruction to earnestly negotiating a peace deal with the Palestinians. They know that settlements are an obstacle to the implementation of a two-state solution, and therefore an impediment to America’s policy in the region. They also know that Israel is committed to the “road map” peace plan, which calls for freezing all settlement activity including “natural growth.”