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AFP
Jerusalem
US President Donald Trump does not believe Israeli settlement growth in Palestinian territories is"good for peace," he told a paper on Friday ahead of meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Appearing to soften parts of his previous hardline support for Israeli policies, Trump also said moving the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a policy fiercely opposed by the Palestinians, was"not an easy decision".
Speaking to the Hebrew-language newspaper Israel Hayom about settlements, Trump adopted perhaps his most hostile position yet, saying they were not"good" for peace.
"I am not somebody that believes that going forward with these settlements is a good thing for peace," he said."Every time you take land for settlements, there is less land left."
Around 600,000 Israelis now live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, communities considered illegal by the United Nations and most world powers.
Trump, however, has been inconsistent on the matter ” suggesting at times he is supportive of growth. page 13
