Amona

President Donald Trump escorts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his government will not freeze settlements in occupied Jerusalem, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.  He said,
The issue of halting building projects in the Israeli neighborhoods in East Jerusalem is not part of the [current] negotiations with the US administration

In this Wednesday, May 18, 2016 photo, Jewish settler boys play with toy guns in Amona, an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
In a move critics are describing as a “land grab,” the Israeli parliament has voted to retroactively recognize thousands of illegal settlements built on private Palestinian lands. The bill has passed its first round of voting and is expected to also pass the next three rounds.