Clinton thinks out loud again about Israeli settlement: "US doesn't accept legitimaty of Israeli settlement activity"

The Haaretz headline is incorrect: Clinton: U.S. does not accept legitimacy of Israeli settlements. Hillary Clinton did not say that settlements are illegal, which is what the headline states. According to the actual article, Clinton said:

 

"We do not accept the legitimacy of settlement activity and we have a very firm belief that ending all settlement activity, current and future, would be preferable," Clinton said after meeting with Egyptian officials including President Hosni Mubarak.

 

According to the article, the US still wants a settlement freeze, but believes that getting to talks is the best way to do it. These confused remarks were interpreted by Assistant Secretary of State Crowley, who indicated that like the remarks, US policy is confused:

 

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley, speaking to reporters on Clinton's plane Tuesday night, amplified that message. "What we're trying to do ... is to try to just figure out what is the best way forward. How can we help move the parties towards the start of negotiations," he said.

It is not clear what the US is trying to do. If they are trying to figure something out, it would be better if they didn't think out loud and came to the world with a consistent policy and tone after formulating policy. Earlier Clinton remarks that had praised the partial Israeli freeze on new settlement housing construction did not endear the U.S. to the Palestinians, who expressed their opinion that she had been "bribed by the Zionists."

 

It is necessary to state emphatically that the Zionists did not bribe Hillary Clinton. It is not that we are more moral than the Saudis and others who do bribe and threaten the United States with oil leverage, Al Qaeda attacks and other such enticements. Rather, we concluded that it doesn't pay to bribe people who don't stay bribed. U.S. policy simply wanders all over the place as different officials think out loud and try to figure out what they are trying to do, where that Israel place is, and other important matters. There is no point to bribing people who are apparently wandering in their minds.

 

Ami Isseroff