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Israel minister: US censure slows down settlements

File - In this Aug. 31, 2005 file photo Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and parliament member and Netanyahu's close ally Natan Sharansky speak to journalists during a visit to the West Bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim in the outskirts of Jerusalem. Polls this week suggest that the conservative Netanyahu, who has been prime minister for about a third of his nearly three decades in politics, is likely to be returned for a fourth term when Israel will go to the polls on March 17, 2015. But new developments, especially the emergence of an array of unpredictable centrist parties, make things difficult to predict. (AP Photo / Baz Ratner, File)
File - In this Aug. 31, 2005 file photo Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and parliament member and Netanyahu's close ally Natan Sharansky speak to journalists during a visit to the West Bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim in the outskirts of Jerusalem. Polls this week suggest that the conservative Netanyahu, who has been prime minister for about a third of his nearly three decades in politics, is likely to be returned for a fourth term when Israel will go to the polls on March 17, 2015. But new developments, especially the emergence of an array of unpredictable centrist parties, make things difficult to predict. (AP Photo / Baz Ratner, File) File - In this Aug. 31, 2005 file photo Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and parliament member and Netanyahu's close ally Natan Sharansky speak to journalists during a visit to the West Bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim in the outskirts of Jerusalem. Polls this week suggest that the conservative Netanyahu, who has been prime minister for about a third of his nearly three decades in politics, is likely to be returned for a fourth term when Israel will go to the polls on March 17, 2015. But new developments, especially the emergence of an array of unpredictable centrist parties, make things difficult to predict. (AP Photo / Baz Ratner, File)

By Associated Press 1 min read

JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel’s defense minister says U.S. criticism has slowed down Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank but that he hopes it’s a “temporary” slowdown because the Obama administration “won’t be around forever.”

Moshe Yaalon says Israel wants to build more settlement housing but that global criticism, led by the United States, has prompted restraint.

His remarks, given to a group of Jewish seminary students in a West Bank settlement, were broadcast by Israeli Army Radio on Wednesday.

Yaalon has previously derided U.S. peace efforts in the Middle East, rankling administration officials and stoking tensions with Israel’s most important ally.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s relationship with the Obama administration has been strained over his settlement policies.