White House spokesman Josh Ernest said in a press conference held Saturday that Israel’s settlement construction is not “an impediment to peace.”
“I think the statement is very clear about that. We don’t believe that the existence of current settlements is an impediment to peace but I think the construction or expansion of existing settlements beyond the current borders is not going to be helpful moving forward.”
“The President Donald Trump is committed to peace. That’s his goal. And I think when the President and (Israeli) Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu meet here on the 15th that will obviously be the topic on that. At the end of the day the goal is peace. And I think that’s what you have to keep in mind. I think that is going to be a subject that they discuss when they meet on the 15th and that’s as far as I want to go on that” according to his statements.
