Stop Construction of Settlements, Quayle Urges Israel
Vice President Dan Quayle, in an interview with the Jerusalem Post published Thursday, urged Israel to stop building Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.
“These announcements of new settlements are politically problematic even if they don’t go through with it,” Quayle was quoted as saying.
He reaffirmed Washington’s strong support for Israel but said new settlements help Israel’s critics in the United States to put pressure on the Jewish state to make concessions to the Palestinians.
“It just gives them (the critics) fodder for the cannon fire, and believe me, they want to unload on Israel,” Quayle said.
In a blunt speech last month that surprised American Jews and Israelis, Secretary of State James A. Baker III urged Israel to stop settlement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Israeli government last December approved between five and eight new settlements in occupied areas, but Cabinet wrangling over budget allocations and a timetable for starting the settlements may delay them.
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