Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – US President Barack Obama criticized on Wednesday Israel’s plans to expand settlements on occupied Palestinian land in a rare personal pronouncement on the subject.

"I think that additional settlement building does not contribute to Israel's security, I think it makes it harder for them to make peace with their neighbors," Obama told Fox News, according to Reuters.

"I think it embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous."

Israel has rejected US and international critique of its plans to build 900 new houses in the settlement of Gilo, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, abutting Bethlehem. Gilo was built on land belonging to the Bethlehem municipality and Palestinian families living in the Bethlehem area, but is considered part of Jerusalem under Israeli law.

900 reasons to lose hope

The Palestine Liberation Organization’s chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat also condemned the planned expansion, saying, “This provides 900 more reasons why hopes for salvaging the two-state solution and restarting genuine negotiations are rapidly fading, and why Israel is not a partner for peace.”

“Israel continues to undermine the very credibility to the Middle East peace process, making a mockery of existing agreements and sabotaging all prospects for a return to genuine negotiations,” Erekat added.

“This announcement is a direct slap in the face to the US and the Middle East Quartet. It is also a direct challenge to the international community, which has a duty to uphold international law. Failing to act only creates a culture of impunity when it comes to Israel’s daily violations of international law,” the official also said in a statement.

Jerusalem mayor hits back

Earlier, the Israeli mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat said he "strongly objects" to America's hesitancy over the construction of settlements in the occupied half of the city.

Speaking Wednesday, Barkat said he "strongly objects to the American demand to halt construction in Jerusalem and will allow construction for Jews, Muslims, and Christians in any part of Jerusalem without prejudice," he said. In practice, however, Palestinian Christians and Muslims are not permitted to build homes or even expand existing structures legally.

Barakat, as well as his predecessors, has ignored the will of the international community around East Jerusalem, which Israeli forces occupied in 1967, "annexing" it inside Israel and declaring the city its "eternal, undivided capital." The international community has never recognized the annexation, rather recognizing the area as part of what will be a Palestinian state on the 1967 boundaries. Testifying to the position is the fact that the embassies of most nations to Israel, including America, are in Tel Aviv. Embassies in East Jerusalem serve the Palestinian population.

Suggesting that US policy toward Israel's refusal to stop expanding its borders was based on race or religion rather than legal rights to occupied territory, Barkat added, "Israeli law does not discriminate between Jews, Muslims, and Christians or between eastern and western Jerusalem. The demand to halt construction by religion is not legal in the United States or in any other free place in the world."

"I do not presume that any government would demand to freeze construction in the United States based on race, religion or gender and the attempt to demand it from Jerusalem is a double standard and inconceivable," he added.

The Prime Minister’s Bureau added fuel to the fire Wednesday evening, releasing a statement stating "construction in Gilo has been going on for decades" and noting there was "nothing new" in the recently released planning documents. "Gilo is a part of Jerusalem, just like Rehavia, Pisgat Zeev and Ramot Eshkol," the statement added, all the areas named are on land recognized by the international community as occupied Palestinian areas.

Demolitions

Meanwhile, Israeli bulldozers demolished a two-family home in the Palestinian town of Al-Isawiya, the second such demolition in two days. On Tuesday Israeli authorities razed a four-story building home to 30 people in a neighborhood south of the Old City.

The demolition is part of what Palestinians call an ongoing campaign of "Judaizing" Jerusalem, including the eviction of Palestinians from their homes, the destruction of Palestinian homes and the continued construction of settlements. They say Israel's decisions are not simply municipal matters, as East Jerusalem residents do not hold Israeli citizenship and permits to build there are all but impossible to obtain.

In his Monday report to the General Assembly, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplored Israel's decision to expand Gilo, stressing that it was built on Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.

"The secretary-general reiterates his position that settlements are illegal, and calls on Israel to respect its commitments under the Road Map to cease all settlement activity, including natural growth," a statement issued by his spokesperson said.

"He believes that such actions undermine efforts for peace and cast doubt on the viability of the two-state solution," he added.

According to the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, the Gilo plan involves the construction of 900 four- and five-bedroom housing units, "in an effort to lure relatively well-off residents." The plan, given the final okay by Israeli officials, was launched by the Israel Land Administration as part of Gilo's extension. According to the paper, another 4,000 units were proposed in and around the settlement.

The paper cited sources in the planning committee that said the eastward expansion of Jerusalem came following the scrapping of a plan by architect Moshe Safdie that would have seen West Jerusalem expand on top of natural and planted forests near Ramot. After criticism by environmental groups, it was scrapped, apparently in favor of a plan to build on Palestinian land instead.