Donald Trump says Israel should continue construction of illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank. The Republican presidential candidate refuted the notion that halting the expansion of Jewish settlements is a prerequisite for peace negotiations In an interview with the British paper Daily Mail Trump was asked if there should be a pause in settlement construction in the occupied territories, to which he responded: “No, I don’t think there should be a pause.” Press TV reports: Trump said the settlement construction must “keep going” and “keep moving forward,” because Palestinians fired “thousands of missiles” at Israel. There are “thousands of missiles being launched into Israel,” he said. “Who would put up with that? Who would stand for it?’ “Look: Missiles were launched into Israel, and Israel, I think, never was properly treated by our country. I mean, do you know what that is, how devastating that is?” Over half a million Israelis live in more than 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank including East al-Quds (Jerusalem). All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. Pointing to the stalled “peace” talks, which Palestinian negotiators say will not happen without a halt in [...]