Speaking from Indonesia, Obama told reporters that he was "concerned" over Israel's decision to build 1,300 new settlement homes in east Jerusalem, a flashpoint in the ongoing peace process, the AFP reports. According to the news service, Obama told reporters that, "This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations."
"I'm concerned that we're not seeing each side make the extra effort to get a breakthrough that could finally create a framework for a secure Israel living side-by-side in peace with a sovereign Palestine," Obama added. He re-affirmed, however, that he would continue working on the peace process, despite its fragility.
According to the New York Times, the U.S. was angered over the timing of Israel's decision. As Sheryl Gay Stolberg wrote:
And from the perspective of the United States, Israel's announcement was ill-timed. It came just as Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was heading to United States for the annual convention of the Jewish Federations of North America. On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu met with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and he was expected to meet Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton later this week.
Mr. Obama is making outreach to the Muslim world a major theme of his brief visit to Indonesia.
Obama was greeted warmly in Indonesia, but was also the target of protests, including some by Muslim groups, before his arrival. (See pictures of the protests here.) Later on Tuesday, he will be visiting Indonesia's largest mosque, and he has spoken repeatedly about his commitment to warming relations with the Muslim world while visiting the county. Indonesia is the world's largest majority Muslim nation, and having spent four years there as a child, the visit is viewed by some as a homecoming.
The president's trip to Indonesia is being shortened due to volcanic eruptions that have been wracking the nation since October 26.