Posted on 09/11/2009 5:43:20 AM PDT by SJackson
I'm not going to pronounce on investment decisions that are not contrary to U.S. law that are made by private American citizens.
U.S. Department of State Ian Kelly Department Spokesman Daily Press Briefing Washington, DC September 9, 2009
TRANSCRIPT: 1:10 p.m. EDT
...
QUESTION: Middle East. Is there anything set yet on Mitchell's trip, and what is your reaction to the new - the announcement by the Israelis of these new housing units in East Jerusalem?
MR. KELLY: Yeah. First of all, on Mitchell's trip, no, we have no itinerary to announce. We still expect him to leave probably - I think we said the end of the week, so I think it's probably Friday. I think there will be several stops, but we don't have any specific information on the trip itself.
...
QUESTION: But about the new housing units that have been announced for East Jerusalem.
MR. KELLY: Oh, the new housing, I don't have anything to add to what the White House said on Friday.
QUESTION: Well, that was - that was about the West Bank. This is new housing units in East Jerusalem.
MR. KELLY: We - our position is clear. We do not - we believe that Israel has an obligation to cease all settlement activity in East Jerusalem or the West Bank or wherever it may be over the 1967 border.
Yes.
QUESTION: I have a question on the settlements. There are reports that Americans who hold dual Israeli citizenship have been helping to finance certain settlements in East Jerusalem in areas that are heavily populated with Muslim communities, which would be in contradiction to your policy. Is it concerning that there are American citizens who are doing this, and is it counter-productive to your objectives?
MR. KELLY: Yeah. Well, first of all, these are private American citizens. I'm not going to pronounce on investment decisions that are not contrary to U.S. law that are made by private American citizens. Again, you know what our policy is, that we need to get to the point where we have the proper atmosphere for the two sides to sit down and come up with a solution to this longstanding conflict. We need to remove all the obstacles in the way of getting to that point of being able to start talks.
QUESTION: Would that be one of the obstacles?
MR. KELLY: And this would - we see the settlements as one of the obstacles to these talks.
QUESTION: And if I could just --
...Can we go back to Mitchell?
MR. KELLY: Sure.
QUESTION: You said there were going to be several stops. Are there going to be stops other than in Israel and the Palestinian territories?
MR. KELLY: I believe so. He'll go to other places in the region, but we just haven't - we haven't nailed down all the details. So we want to refrain from announcing the trip till we have the whole thing put together.
QUESTION: Will he be meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu?
MR. KELLY: That - I don't know. It's quite possible.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
I'm not going to pronounce on investment decisions that are not contrary to U.S. law
Legal under US and Israeli law. State and the White House pronounce on where Jews live and build constantly.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
Israel should not hesitate to do whatever is in their self-interest!
Well, first of all, these are private American citizens. I'm not going to pronounce on investment decisions that are not contrary to U.S. law that are made by private American citizens. Again, you know what our policy is, that we need to get to the point where we have the proper atmosphere for the two sides to sit down and come up with a solution to this longstanding conflict. We need to remove all the obstacles in the way of getting to that point of being able to start talks.Have cake, eat it too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.