Defiant Netanyahu Defends Building in Jerusalem

Benjamin Netanyahu won’t yield to US demands to halt construction in East Jerusalem, he told the pro-Israeli lobbying group AIPAC last night in Washington. “The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 years, and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today,” he said. “Jerusalem is not a settlement; it’s our capital.” The hard line declaration came despite meetings with Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden earlier in the day.

Clinton also spoke before the lobbying group, saying though US support for Israel was “rock solid, unwavering, enduring and forever,” it vehemently disagreed with its current policies, and found the status quo in the region unacceptable. “Our credibility in this process depends in part on our willingness to praise both sides when they are courageous, and when we don’t agree, to say so, and say so unequivocally,” she said. (More Benjamin Netanyahu stories.)