The front-runner in Israel’s election said in an interview published Monday that he would let Jewish settlements expand in the West Bank if he’s elected prime minister, threatening to put him at odds with the Obama administration. The remarks by hawkish Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu come just before the new U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, is scheduled to visit Israel, the West Bank and elsewhere this week for talks aimed at keeping alive a fragile Gaza cease-fire and reviving Mideast peace negotiations.
