[14/March/2010]

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Saba) -- The Israeli government announcement of plans to expand housing in East Jerusalem was "very destructive," senior White House adviser David Axelrod said on Sunday, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

The announcement, which came last week as US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Jerusalem to prod proximity talks between Israelis and Palestinians, was "an affront, insulting, and most important, it undermines this very fragile effort under way" to get the proximity talks off the ground, Axelrod said in an NBC 'Meet the Press' interview.
Axelrod noted that Biden and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had strongly condemned the announcement, and that their remarks reflected the views of President Barack Obama.

The Israeli ambassador to the United States was called to the State Department over the issue, Axelrod noted, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to his Cabinet this morning about US views on the subject.
"I think the message was received," Axelrod said.

Saba