Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Saturday that the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank will not be halted, Xinhua reported.
"Settlements are not the reason that the peace process is failing, they were never an obstacle, not at any stage," Ya'alon was quoted by Israeli Channel 2 as saying. "Even when Israel pulled out of (Palestinian) territory, the terror continued."
Ya'alon emphasized that Israel would not halt the construction of the settlements "within the framework of natural growth."
As to the illegal outposts in the West Bank, which Israel has vowed to evacuate and has begun to do so, Ya'alon said "the government will not permit illegal settlement, as we've proven with our actions this week."
Israel evacuated the small outpost of Maoz Esther on Thursday morning. Local analysts believed that it was carried out due to the U.S. pressure.
However, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak denied any connection between the meeting of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, and the evacuation.
Ya'alon also commented the Netanyahu-Obama meeting, saying that the U.S. had upped its demands and was trying to dictate Israel's next moves in the negotiations with the Palestinians.
"(U.S. envoy to the Middle East George) Mitchell will come, and we'll talk to him. I suggest that Israel and the U.S. don't set a timetable. We won't let them threaten us," Ya'alon added.
During the meeting with Netanyahu in the White House earlier this week, Obama said "under the road map, under Annapolis there's a clear understanding that we have to make progress on settlements, that settlements have to be stopped in order for us to move forward."
Netanyahu did not respond publicly to this comment, while refused again to say he was ready to negotiate the two-state solution, which was endorsed by the United States and other parties pushing for Israel-Palestinian peace.
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