The White House said on Friday that building new Israeli settlements or expansion of existing ones in occupied territories "may not be helpful" in achieving peace with Palestinians.
"While we don't believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful," White House Spokesman Sean Spicer said in a statement.
The statement also explained that the Trump administration "has not taken an official position on settlement activity" and that it looks forward to the meeting of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) with US President Donald Trump, which is due later this month.
Trump previously fully supported Israeli settlement activity, and since Trump came to office Israel has approved a lot of new settlement constructions. Israel recently announced it planned to build 3,000 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Image: EPA / JIM HOLLANDER
