In Israel and the Occupied Territories, the Israeli government has announced a new round of settlement expansion on occupied Palestinian land. Israel says it will build 900 new homes in the East Jerusalem settlement of Gilo. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs criticized the plan, saying, “We are dismayed.” But the move comes just two weeks after the Obama administration tacitly approved settlement expansion by hailing an Israeli pledge to slow down construction, not halt it completely. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki called for meaningful international pressure on Israel.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki: “The international community should really understand that these measures, these actions taken by Israel, are intended to prevent the Palestinian state from happening, and they want really to maintain the occupation as long as possible. One should really react to this, and it’s not enough for the international community to keep saying that settlement activities are illegal. I think, you know, it’s time for the international community to intervene and to stop such settlement activities from taking place, because, you know, they are making a solution impossible.”

In a statement, the Israeli government dismissed opposition to the new construction, which it called “a routine process.”