By Josh Hersh
The sensitive issue of Israeli settlement construction in the Palestinian West Bank is something that should be "discussed in private," Mitt Romney said in an interview with CNN Monday.
"I believe that the issue of settlements is something which should be discussed in private by the American president and our allies," Romney told Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room." "When we show diplomatic distance between ourselves and our ally, I think we encourage people who oppose that relationship to seek other means to achieve their ends."
Settlement construction has been one of the most controversial and complicated elements of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship, and, by extension, of the U.S.-Israeli one. Early in his term, President Obama described the ever-expanding Israeli construction on land in East Jerusalem and the West Bank that many consider part of a future Palestinian state as "illegitimate," and he later called for a total settlement freeze to allow negotiations to commence. The gambit failed, and ultimately left Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resentful of the intrusion.
Romney has repeatedly dismissed efforts to put pressure on Israel over settlements, or any other issue, as counterproductive. In his foreign policy speech shortly before embarking on the trip to Israel, Romney assailed Obama for putting pressure on the country, accusing the president of contributing to a "chorus of accusations, threats and insults."
More: Mitt Romney Says Israel Settlements 'Should Be Discussed In Private'