Netanyahu settlement move widens rift with US

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel will continue to build homes in existing West Bank settlements, defying US calls to halt settlement growth.

The comments came days after a contentious visit to the White House and threatened to widen a growing rift with the Obama administration. The US considers the settlements – home to some 280,000 Israelis – obstacles to peace since they are built on captured territory the Palestinians claim for a future state.

Netanyahu told the weekly meeting of his cabinet that he would not allow any new settlements to be created, but said existing settlements must be allowed to expand for “natural growth,” the ill-defined term Israel uses for population growth in the settlements.