Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Marking New Era, Trump Administration Avoids Condemning Israeli Settlement Expansion

Setting a new tone in its relationship with Israel, the Trump administration passed on an opportunity to criticize Israel for its latest settlement expansion plan.

While previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican, have consistently condemned new Israeli building in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the Trump White House made no such comment.

Asked about the latest [Israeli announcement[(https://forward-hcl50.orc.scoolaid.net/fast-forward/360988/with-trump-in-power-israel-gives-green-light-to-huge-settlement-expansion/) regarding its intention to build 2,500 new housing units in existing settlements, White House press secretary refused to state any position.

“We will have a conversation with the prime minister,” said Sean Spicer during his Tuesday press briefing, adding that Israel “continues to be a huge ally”.

Barack Obama’s administration repeatedly criticized similar decisions by the Israeli government, describing them as an “obstacle for peace” and as steps that “put into question” Israel’s commitment to a two state solution because new building in the settlements prejudges the outcome of any future negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

During the presidential campaign, Trump’s advisers made clear he will adopt a relaxed approach on settlement expansion.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected]

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.