Clinton clarifies settlement stance

In the final stop on her visit to the Middle East and Pakistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak yesterday. After commenting on her statement in Jerusalem over the weekend that the U.S. considered Israel's movement on settlements "unprecedented," she assured Arab leaders that the Obama administration is not reneging on demands to halt settlement building.

In Marrakesh, Morocco yesterday, Clinton told Al Jazeera that it was ultimately beneficial for the Palestinians to negotiate with Israel, despite settlement growth. Acknowledging that it would be preferable to have a complete halt on settlement building, she said:

"It is not what we would want and it is nowhere near enough – but I think that when you keep your eye on what we want to achieve, it is a better place to be than the alternative, which is unrestrained."

In light of stalled movement towards renewing the peace process, State Department spokesperson P.J. Crowley said:

"There's value in having the process" in itself... In a sign of the administration's changing focus, Mr. Crowley added: "If this particular path, we think, can't get us there, we'll look for others."

Today, after meeting with Mubarak, Clinton insisted that U.S. policy on settlements has not changed.

Ha'aretz reports:

"We do not accept the legitimacy of settlement activity. Ending all settlement activity current and future would be preferable," she told reporters after talks with Mubarak.

Of the Israeli offer, she said, "It is not what we would prefer because we would like to see everything ended forever."

"But it is something that I think shows at least a positive movement forward toward final status issues being addressed," she said.