According to the Jerusalem Post, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has announced that the US sees several Jerusalem neighborhoods as “settlements” in which Israel is not allowed to build according to the Road Map.  Har Homa “is a settlement the United States has opposed from the very beginning,” she said.  She did not say whether other neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city were considered settlements as well.

Israel lost half of Jerusalem, including the Old City and Temple Mount, during the War of Independence, but managed to retake the area during the Six Day War 19 years later.  Israel has since annexed the eastern half of the city, including Har Homa.  The Palestinian Authority has insisted that Israel give it all territories that were lost in 1948, among them Judea, Samaria, and half of Jerusalem.