Unbricking Obama's Wall

Jerusalem – Ma'an – A senior member of US President Barack Obama's party broke ranks on Thursday, blaming Palestinians for a lack of peace negotiations and casting doubt on calls for a settlement freeze.

"I don't think settlements are nearly the big issue that confronts the Palestinians and the Israelis in reaching an agreement," said Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the American House majority leader, at a West Jerusalem news conference.

"I think the largest thing impeding them at this point in time is the unwillingness of [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas to sit down now," added Hoyer, who is leading a 29-member delegation to Israel and the West Bank sponsored by an affiliate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest pro-Israel lobbyist group in Washington, DC.

...During the visit Hoyer did not directly criticize Obama, but voiced significant doubts about the White House's push for a freeze on the West Bank settlements, which are illegal under international law...Asked by Ma'an whether, in light of his comments, the US still backs the Road Map peace plan, which calls for an immediate stop to settlement construction, Hoyer said, "US policy has not changed. US policy has been for a number of presidents, … the United States policy has been for a stop of any additional settlements."

However, the powerful lawmaker from the state of Maryland said he had sympathy for the Israeli government's refusal to halt construction.

"Netanyahu's standpoint and Israel's standpoint is that if one of your children gets married and wants to live close to you, there needs to be a place to live [in a settlement]. That's not an irrational argument. For the Palestinians' point of view, that's not a freeze. That's not an irrational argument."

Hoyer also reiterated that in his view, settlements built in East Jerusalem (according to boundaries set by Israel) are not as objectionable as those in the rest of the West Bank.

"I personally perceive Jerusalem as a unified city. I continue to view it as a unified city," he said, articulating a view at odds with the US State Department, which has said that the demand for a freeze applies to all Israeli construction across the Green Line.

...One congresswoman, Betsy Markey of Colorado, also said the group had the opportunity to "drive throughout Ramallah," the seat of the Palestinian Authority...