01/11/2009 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's praise for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's policies is proof that Netanyahu is taking unprecedented steps to strangle Jewish settlement in “Judea and Samaria,” MK Aryeh Eldad warned Sunday.
 
Clinton praised Netanyahu's willingness to freeze Israeli growth in the region as “unprecedented in the context of prior to negotiations.”
 
"No Israeli Prime Minister, not even those from the Left who came in with the intention of demolishing Jewish settlements, put a stranglehold on Jewish settlement as Netanyahu has done,” said Eldad, a member of the National Union party.
 
"The time has come for those who are faithful to the Land of Israel in the Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home), and the Jewish Home party to open their eyes to the terrible reality that they are creating with their own hands,” Eldad continued. “If they don't stop Netanyahu immediately – he will destroy the Jewish settlement enterprise of Judea and Samaria.”
 
Clinton held a joint press conference with Netanyahu on Saturday night and praised the prime minister for agreeing to freeze Israeli construction in the West Bank prior to beginning negotiations with the Palestinian Authority – something that she noted “has never been a precondition for negotiations, but rather an issue within the negotiations.”
 
In the press conference, Clinton said that she was eager to see the sides embarking on talks, but added that a settlement freeze was not a pre-condition for negotiations.
 
"I want to see both sides as soon as possible begin in negotiations," said Clinton. "Both president Obama and I are committed to a comprehensive peace agreement."
 
"I think where we are right now is to try to get into negotiations. The prime minister will be able to present his government's proposal about what they are doing regarding settlements, which I think when fully explained will be seen as being not only unprecedented, but in response to many of the concerns that have been expressed," she said.
 
Meanwhile, Netanyahu said that Israel is interested in progressing on the peace front vis-à-vis the Palestinians, and also in respect to regional peace.
 
Responding to Clinton's remarks, a Palestinian official said Israel must halt settlement building for peace talks to resume.
Nabil Abu Rdainah, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said: "A settlement freeze and acknowledging the terms of reference is the only way towards peace negotiations."
 
"There can be no excuse for the continuation of settlements, which is really the main obstacle in the way of any credible peace process," he added.
 
 
"Settlement is illegitimate and it is not possible to accept any justification for the continuation of the settlement activity or to defend it in the lands occupied in 1967, including Jerusalem," Abu Rdainah said.
 
Also on Saturday, Israeli FM Avigdor Lieberman accused the Palestinian Authority of aiming to prevent negotiations with Israel,.
Lieberman also told Clinton that he recommended, in a talk with Netanyahu, not to embark on negotiations with the Palestinians as long as they continue their incitement over the Goldstone Report and insist on bringing the matter up with the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
 
Meanwhile, the spokesman for Hamas, Sami Abu Zuhri, said the U.S. could not effectively engage in peacemaking while ignoring Hamas, and said Clinton's visit was "destined to fail."
"What we should do on the path to peace is get on it and get with it," he said.