President Obama hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House today in their first meeting since Israel’s announcement of a major settlement expansion in East Jerusalem. On Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told attendees at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference that the US commitment to Israel is “rock-solid.” But Clinton did criticize Israel for continuing to build settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “New construction in East Jerusalem or the West Bank undermines that mutual trust and endangers the proximity talks that are the first step toward the full negotiations that both sides say they want and need. And it exposes daylight between Israel and the United States that others in the region hope to exploit. It undermines America’s unique ability to play a role, an essential role, in the peace process.”

In a defiant speech hours after Clinton’s address, Netanyahu rejected US criticism and vowed to continue building settlements.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 years ago, and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today. Jerusalem is not a settlement. It’s our capital. Everyone knows — everyone, Americans, Europeans, Israelis certainly, Palestinians — everyone knows that these neighborhoods will be part of Israel in any peace settlement. And therefore, building in them in no way precludes the possibility of a two-state solution.”