Clinton: Israeli settlement activity not legitimate

The United States does not accept the legitimacy of Israeli settlement and the peace talks should include the disputed city of Jerusalem, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday.

"We do not accept the legitimacy of settlement activity and we have a very firm belief that ending all settlement activity, current and future, would be preferable," Clinton said in a press conference after her meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Clinton also stressed that Middle East peace talks must include all of the issues that includes the disputed city of Jerusalem.

"We want to assure you that our goal is a real state, with a real sovereignty," she added.

Meanwhile, Clinton believes that getting back to peace talks is the quickest way to achieve a freeze.

"Getting into final status negotiations will allow us to bring an end to settlement activity," she said.

Clinton's remarks come two days after she declared siding with Israel as regards the issue of settlement and the resumption of the peace talks.

On Saturday, Clinton stressed that a full Israeli settlement freeze was not a precondition to the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Source: Xinhua