<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Clinton: US &#8220;Can’t Stop&#8221; Israel From&nbsp;Settling]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>PNN &#8211; Palestine News Network &#8211; 13.01.11 &#8211; 14:03</p>
<p>Doha – PNN &#8211; At a press conference in Doha, Qatar, US Secretary  of State Hilary Clinton said the power of American foreign policy was  inherently limited when it came to pressuring Israel.</p>
<div class="mosimage" style="float:right;border-width:2px;"><img title="Image" src="https://i1.wp.com/english.pnn.ps/images/stories/2008/clinton.jpg" border="0" alt="Image" hspace="6" width="350" height="232" /></p>
<div class="mosimage_caption">US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton (PNN Images).</div>
</div>
<p>Asked  by an al-Jazeera reporter why Arab countries should take US advice when  US pressure on Israel proved ineffectual, Clinton explained, “Israel is  a sovereign country and it makes its own decisions. [The US] can’t stop  a lot of countries from doing things that we disagree and we speak out  against. I wish there was a way we could tell a lot of countries what  they should do because there are a lot of countries doing things that  are not in the best interests of their own people, their neighbors, or  the world.”</p>
<p>American pressure on Israel’s illegal settlement  policies has amounted, in the past months since Israeli-Palestinian  peace talks were derailed over the issue of settlements, to statements  of disappointment and discouragement. Most recently, Clinton called the  demolition of the historic Shepherd Hotel in East Jerusalem a  “disturbing development.”</p>
<p>However, neither Clinton nor US  President Barack Obama has been able to enforce any kind of settlement  freeze in the Palestinian territories. Clinton speculated that Israel’s  intransigence was due to caution over possible new violence in the West  Bank.</p>
<p>“You often make decisions based on your own experience and  history,” said Clinton. “And when the Israelis pulled out of Lebanon  they got Hezbollah and 40,000 rockets and when they pulled out of Gaza  they got Hamas and 20,000 rockets.”</p>
<p>Secretary Clinton was in Doha for a regional development conference.</p>
<p><a href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=9395&amp;Itemid=66">PNN &#8211; Palestine News Network &#8211; Clinton: US &#8220;Can’t Stop&#8221; Israel From Settling</a>.</p>
]]></html><thumbnail_url><![CDATA[https://i1.wp.com/english.pnn.ps/images/stories/2008/clinton.jpg?fit=440%2C330]]></thumbnail_url><thumbnail_width><![CDATA[]]></thumbnail_width><thumbnail_height><![CDATA[]]></thumbnail_height></oembed>