As seen on IsraelNationalTV’s YouTube Channel:  View the video report “Outpost Wont Dismantle“ sharing strongly held thoughts and views by those who live there:

“The new community of Shvut Ami has been repeatedly destroyed by the government, but activists refuse to leave the spot. As seen on Arutz Sheva.” 

Addendum:  JTA Op-Ed by Mitchell Bard – Op-Ed: “Settlement freeze? OK … but what next?”

…”While the notion of America dictating policy may be irksome to many Israelis, today 275,000 Israelis are living in communities throughout Judea and Samaria. To create the Palestinian state Obama envisions will require him to make some very difficult decisions.

First, should Jewish communities be uprooted from the West Bank? If so, this endorses the Palestinian idea that Jews should not be allowed to live in the state of Palestine. Does President Obama want to endorse the idea that Jews can live anywhere in the world except in the country America helped create?

Is this consistent with the belief that Palestinian Arabs should be allowed to live in Israel, or does the president favor a transfer of populations, Jews from the West Bank to Israel and Arabs from the Israeli triangle to Palestine?

Second, must Israel dismantle cities such as Ma’ale Adumim with a population comparable to Annapolis, Md.? Most Israelis believe the settlement blocs with roughly 70 percent of the settlers should be incorporated into Israel. Is President Obama prepared to support this? If so, that is an endorsement of President George W. Bush’s 2004 letter to Ariel Sharon acknowledging that future borders must take into account demographic changes since 1967.

Finally, what if the Israelis say no?…” Read the rest of Bard’s Op-Ed

Update:  Jerusalem Post, June 2nd:  “Obama joins Barak meeting as settlement row gets worse”

   …”The settlement issue was believed to have been one of the focuses of Barak’s discussion with Jones. Following the meeting, Barak issued a statement saying that “the intimacy, openness and joint interests of Israel and the US are a foundation of Israeli policy, both in facing threats and making peace.”
   Barak’s statement, however, could not camouflage deep differences that have been emerging over the settlement issue.
Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday said that understandings on settlement construction with the US had formed the basis of Israel’s acceptance of the road map in 2003 and the adoption of the disengagement plan in 2005, firing back at Washington for its demand for a settlement freeze that would include natural growth.
   The implication of the officials’ comments were clear: that if the US was changing its understandings on the settlements, it was undermining the foundations of the road map and was in essence reneging on understandings that were an essential part of Israel’s decision to leave the Gaza Strip…” Read the whole article

Update:  Israel National News:  “Barack Meets Barak: Handshake or Arm Twist?”