“In 2000, I was the Israeli Prime Minister that made the boldest steps to attain peace, and in that year were the most beginning of Israeli construction in the territories,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak told U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell at their New York meeting on Tuesday.

Barak made his statement in order to emphasize before Mitchell that construction within Judea and Samaria isn’t an obstacle to the peace process. Nor does it prevent the sides from progressing to achieve peace. Barak tried convincing Mitchell that America's focus on construction is short-sighted. Instead of creating a wide-ranging regional peace plan, it won’t help and will instead lead the sides to a dead end.

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