U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dismissed on Friday arguments that Israel and the Bush administration had an understanding under which Israel could keep expanding Jewish settlements on the West Bank.
Dov Weisglass, chief of staff to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said in an op-ed piece published this week in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot that the Bush administration and Israel had an understanding under which Israel could expand settlements within their existing boundaries.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Clinton sought to undercut his argument, saying there was no acknowledgment of any such agreement in the official negotiating record between Israel and the Bush administration.
” There is no memorialization of any informal and oral agreements. If they did occur, which of course people say they did, they did not become part of the official position of the United States government ”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
“There is no memorialization of any informal and oral agreements. If they did occur, which of course people say they did, they did not become part of the official position of the United States government,” Clinton said at a news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
“And there are contrary documents that suggest that they were not to be viewed as in any way contradicting the obligations that Israel undertook pursuant to the road map.” she added. “And those obligations are very clear.
–Agencies