Photos: Jewish settlements point of contention ahead of Obama’s visit to Israel
March 18, 2013
Palestinian laborers work on the construction of a synagogue as an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks past in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Beitar Ilit, near Bethlehem on March 18, 2013. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new governing coalition prepared to take office after a parliamentary vote on Monday with powerful roles reserved for supporters of settlers in occupied territory. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/GOVERNMENT )
Israeli earth-moving equipment works in the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Netafim, near the West Bank village of Salfit on Sept. 27, 2010. The Israeli government has quietly agreed to grant subsidies to build more than 500 new homes in the West Bank, backtracking from a promise earlier this year to deny these incentives to the settlements. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh) ( Mideast Israel Palestinians Encouraging Settlements )
Jewish settlers and movers employed by the Israeli Defense Ministry carry out belongings from settlers' apartments in the Ulpana neighborhood in the West bank Jewish settlement of Beit El, near Ramallah on Tuesday, June. 26, 2012. Israel began evacuateing about 30 families from the Ulpana unauthorized West Bank outpost, following a court order to dismantle the enclave, to be followed by 30 more later this week. Ulpana residents have promised to leave quietly unlike more violent evacuations in the past. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) ( Mideast Israel Palestinians )
Jewish settler Netanel stands outside his house in the unauthorized outpost of Havat Gilad, south of the West Bank city of Nablus on March 17, 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama is due to make his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories this week, looking to improve ties after sometimes rocky relations with both sides during his first term in office. Israeli settlement expansion lies at the heart of much of the rancor between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama, who has said the U.S. does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement. REUTERS/Nir Elias ( ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/OBAMA )
A Jewish settler child wears a costume ahead of the Jewish festival of Purim on February 22, 2013 at the settlement outpost of Havat Gilad, West Bank. The carnival-like Purim holiday is celebrated with parades and costume parties to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them in the ancient Persian empire 2,500 years ago, as described in the Book of Esther. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 162353779 )
Bedouins ride donkeys in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem on December 3, 2012. Israel will not backtrack on a settlement expansion plan that has drawn strong international condemnation, an official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Monday. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ( PALESTNIANS-ISRAEL/SETTLEMENTS )
A Palestinian laborer works on a construction site in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Har Gilo, near Jerusalem on March 18, 2013. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new governing coalition prepared to take office after a parliamentary vote on Monday with powerful roles reserved for supporters of settlers in occupied territory. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/GOVERNMENT )
A view of Gilo, a Jewish settlement on land Israel captured in 1967 and annexed to its Jerusalem municipality, is seen from the West Bank town of Beit Jala on January 16, 2011. Israeli settlement construction on occupied land poses the most serious threat to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, European Union consuls general based in the region said in a report released on February 27, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/SETTLEMENT )
Jewish settler children wear costumes ahead of the Jewish festival of Purim on February 22, 2013 at the settlement outpost of Havat Gilad, West Bank. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 162353769 )
A Jewish settler child is wearing a costume ahead of the Jewish festival of Purim as Israeli soldiers arrive to secure a Purim parade on February 22, 2013 at the settlement outpost of Havat Gilad, West Bank. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 162354382 )
A Jewish settler girl plays the piano as her brothers and sister wear costumes ahead of the Jewish festival of Purim February 22, 2013 at the settlement outpost of Havat Gilad, West Bank. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) ( 162354383 )
The Jewish settlement of Halamish is seen in the background as a masked Palestinian protester sits on a rock during clashes with Israeli security officers (unseen) at a protest against settlements, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah on November 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/ )
In this photo taken on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, a general view of the Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim is seen on the outskirts of Jerusalem. President Barack Obama is coming to town, and it seems like everyone in Israel wants to be a part of the historic visit. One invitation has come from Benny Kashriel, the mayor of the West Bank Jewish settlement Maaleh Adumim. Kashriel wants to host Obama in a contested area known as E-1, where Israel envisages construction of more than 3,000 apartments. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) ( Mideast Israel Obama Invites )
Aliza Herbst, a yoga teacher and former settler spokeswoman stands outside her house in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ofra, north of Ramallah on March 12, 2013. If there is one thing that seems to unite Israelis and Palestinians days before Obama's visit to Israel, the occupied West Bank and Jordan next week, it is their talk of broken promises and lack of hope that he will ever bring peace. Picture taken March 12, 2013. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/OBAMA-MOOD )
People enjoy sunny weather as a helicopter flies near the shore on the Dead Sea, near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Mitzpe Shalem, December 1, 2012. REUTERS/Marko Djurica ( ISRAEL/ )
The West Bank town of Bethlehem is seen in the background as Palestinian laborers work on a construction site at a Jewish settlement near Jerusalem known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim on March 18, 2013. Israel's new housing minister said on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's incoming cabinet would keep expanding Jewish settlements to the same extent as his previous government. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( ISRAEL-SETTLEMENTS/ )
A Palestinian laborer works on a construction site in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Har Gilo, near Jerusalem on March 18, 2013. Israel's new housing minister said on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's incoming cabinet would keep expanding Jewish settlements to the same extent as his previous government. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( ISRAEL-SETTLEMENTS/ )
Ultra Orthodox Jewish men dance in a Synagogue during a celebration in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit, Monday, March 11, 2013. Thousands celebrated the inauguration of a new Torah scroll. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) ( Mideast Israel Palestinians )
An Ultra Orthodox Jewish man stands in front of a Synagogue during a celebration in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit, Monday, March 11, 2013. Thousands celebrated the inauguration of a new Torah scroll. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) ( Mideast Israel Palestinians )
Prefabricated homes are seen in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Eli, south of Nablus on March 17, 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama is due to make his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories this week, looking to improve ties after sometimes rocky relations with both sides during his first term in office. Israeli settlement expansion lies at the heart of much of the rancor between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama, who has said the U.S. does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement. Picture taken March 17, 2013. REUTERS/Nir Elias ( ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/OBAMA )
A general view of the Jewish settlement of Nili, near the West Bank city of Ramallah on February 1, 2013. Israeli settlement construction on occupied land poses the most serious threat to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, European Union consuls general based in the region said in a report released on February 27, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner ( PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/EU )
Palestinian protesters throw stones towards Israeli troops during clashes in the old city of Hebron on March 1, 2013 following a protest demanding the reopening of Shuhada Street, the one-time heart of the city. Flanked by a handful of Jewish settlement enclaves, Shuhada Street was partially closed off in 1994 after local settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim worshippers at the city's Al-Ibrahimi mosque, killing 29 of them. MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images ( 517824459 )
Palestinians aid a wounded protester following clashes with Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra near Nablus on February 23, 2013. Three Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Jewish settlers from a wildcat settlement near a village in the northern West Bank, various sources said. JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP/Getty Images ( 517617233 )
A horse stands on a hill next to the West Bank settlement of Itamar, near Nablus on March 17, 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama is due to make his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories this week, looking to improve ties after sometimes rocky relations with both sides during his first term in office. Israeli settlement expansion lies at the heart of much of the rancor between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama, who has said the U.S. does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement. Picture taken March 17, 2013. REUTERS/Nir Elias ( ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/OBAMA )
A house is seen at the unauthorized Jewish settler outpost of Havat Gilad, south of the West Bank city of Nablus on March 17, 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama is due to make his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories this week, looking to improve ties after sometimes rocky relations with both sides during his first term in office. Israeli settlement expansion lies at the heart of much of the rancor between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama, who has said the U.S. does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement. Picture taken March 17, 2013. REUTERS/Nir Elias ( ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/OBAMA )
Houses are seen in a general view of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Efrat, near Bethlehem March 17, 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama is due to make his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories this week, looking to improve ties after sometimes rocky relations with both sides during his first term in office. Israeli settlement expansion lies at the heart of much of the rancor between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama, who has said the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement. Picture taken March 17, 2013. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun ( ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/OBAMA )
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