The Foreign Ministry responded to the American attacks on building in Judea and Samaria earlier.
"98 units in Shilo do not constitute 'a new settlement.' The units will be built on state land within the confines of the existing community of Shilo. They are meant to solve a housing problem for the residents of Amona who were forced to leave their homes in accordance with a demolition order by the Supreme Court," the Ministry said.
The Ministry also emphasized: "Israel is still obligated to the Two-State solution, in which a proclaimed Palestinian State recognizes Israel as the Jewish State. The real obstacle to peace is not the settlements, but the continual Palestinian rejection of Israel's existence."