JNS reports that the chair of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee told U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides that settlement expansion would continue, despite Washington’s objections.

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, the former Knesset speaker who now heads the pivotal committee, held an introductory meeting with Nides on Wednesday.

“I expressed to the ambassador my clear position regarding the need for construction in the areas of settlement in Judea and Samaria,” said Edelstein, a longtime resident of Gush Etzion. “The families there are developing and it’s impossible to put their lives on hold. Construction should continue.”

Image - Courtesy of the Knesset