After being weighed down for years, U.S. levels with Israel

(press tv) Israel continues its illegal construction of settlements on occupied Palestinian lands. U.S. President Barack Obama promises to continue to speak his mind against Tel Aviv -- a move expected to land him on the wrong side of the Israeli leadership.  Obama has stepped up demands that Israel put a stop to its large-scale building projects on occupied Palestinian land.  The U.S. calls, however, have largely fallen on deaf ears among Israeli leaders, who argue that halting construction in settlements in the West Bank would be equal to "freezing life" and is therefore "unreasonable".  In a Monday interview with NPR, Obama attacked Tel Aviv over its non-cooperation, asserting that he would continue his objection to Israel's illegal settlement construction.  "Part of being a good friend is being honest," said Obama. "And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests."  Obama refused to comment on what he would do if Israel continued to balk at requests that it halt its land-grab but said that he is determined to "follow through" with his demands as the main part of his political agenda in the Middle East.  His claims appear to be a dramatic break from his predecessors, who mostly fought shy of a confrontation with Israel by overlooking the Palestinian crisis.  Israel, unfazed by worldwide criticism of its settlement building, has moved on with a series of settler-driven demolitions of Palestinian houses in Jerusalem (al-Quds) in order to further expand its illegal outposts.  Half a million Zionists live in settlement blocs built on lands that Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war and are in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the occupying power from transferring its citizens to occupied lands.  Israel's continued construction of housing settlements are proven to have direct and serious consequences on the welfare of Palestinian communities, by restricting their freedom of movement, denying them access to essential supplies, services and land.  Human Rights Watch has repeatedly reported and documented the crimes that Jewish settlers commit against Palestinians, some of which include the deliberate poisoning of water supplies, agricultural sabotage, as well as the destruction of olive trees and crops.  There have been repeated UN resolutions regarding the issue, most of which have been blocked by the United States in the past decades.  A leaked report on Jewish settlements in the West Bank has recently revealed that the Israeli government was complicit in illegal construction on private land owned by Palestinians.  Israeli human rights group Yesh Din said the confidential information would help Palestinians sue Tel Aviv for "systematically violating international law and the property rights of Palestinian residents".