Settlement Growth By U.S. Administration

Israel’s settlement policy is sometimes associated with the policies of American administrations. President George H.W. Bush, for example, instituted a policy of deducting spending associated with settlement activity from loan guarantees provided to Israel. During President Barack Obama’s first year in office, he convinced Israel to freeze settlement construction for 10 months. By contrast, President Donald Trump was more tolerant of Israeli settlement expansion. Perceptions of how these presidents felt about settlements and their impact on their growth does not always correspond with the facts. As the table below shows, the growth of the Jewish population in the disputed territories has declined with each administration since George H.W. Bush. This does not take into account the fact that two of the five presidents served only one term.