The Freeze Is Getting Colder

This story has me making two comments.

First:

The United States is among those monitoring settlement activity. The U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem said its officials regularly visit settlements and take photographs. A foreman at one construction project in Maaleh Adumim said Monday that U.S. officials had been there recently, walking around and taking pictures.

They have always been doing so. They use precious intelligence satellite time too.

Secondly:

Migrants boost Jewish settler numbers in West Bank

From "settlers" to "migrants".

And one observation:

Nearly 300,000 Israelis currently live in the West Bank and 180,000 in east Jerusalem, whose annexation by Israel in 1967 is not internationally recognized. That's more than double from 116,300 at the end of 1993, the year Israel and the Palestinians signed their landmark accord...

...Jerusalem-born Yaffa Shkibai, who has lived in Maaleh Adumim for 26 of her 50 years, has bought apartments for each of her four children here. "They should continue building and not be afraid of the U.S.," she said. "If we bend, they'll kick us out of here."

Such a stiff-necked people.