The timing of Israel’s East Jerusalem housing plan has put Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu “between a rock and a hard place,” said Robert Duncan, visiting assistant professor of political science. The Israeli leader must appease the hard-line, nationalist members of his own cabinet while also currying favor with the United States, a compromise that seems unlikely considering Israel’s claim of a united Jewish state and U.S. demands to cease the settlement process of East Jerusalem.

“My opinion is that if Netanyahu were to be more conciliatory towards the U.S. and towards the Palestinians, if he were to do what is right, what’s ethical, his government would collapse,” said Duncan. “He’d be out of a job. He’s caught in a political conundrum.”

The latest East Jerusalem settlement project to build 1,600 new housing units was announced two weeks ago during Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel. The timing of the announcement, according to The New York Times, caught Washington off guard and President Obama and his administration were outraged.

The Times also reported that Netanyahu apologized for the bad timing, but maintains that Israel has the right to build anywhere within their own country.

This sentiment is particularly inflammatory because while Israel claims sovereignty over East Jerusalem, their claim goes unrecognized by the United Nations. Following the 1967 war, Israel annexed the area east of the city and proclaimed Jerusalem the eternal undivided capital, but the area is considered under military occupation by other countries. Under international law, settlement of occupied land is illegal.

Last week, Netanyahu visited the White House presumably to discuss the housing plans in the Arab-dominated section of East Jerusalem, though no joint statements were made by the two parties as is customary.

Officials finally issued a public statement, but only in response to reports made by the Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli newspaper.

The Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday that an anonymous cabinet member believed the worst was in store for Israel, assuming that Obama and his administration were turning over a pro-Palestinian leaf.

“We’re talking about something that is diseased and insane,” the unknown confidant told the paper. “The situation is catastrophic. We have a problem with a very, very hostile administration. There’s never been anything like this before. This president wants to establish the Palestinian state and he wants to give them Jerusalem .You could say Obama is the greatest disaster for Israel, a strategic disaster.”

Netanyahu admitted that he and Obama disagreed on some matters but condemned the comments.

“Relations between Israel and the U.S. are those between allies and friends and reflect long- standing tradition,” Netanyahu said according to the Guardian.

Director of the Friends Center Max Carter, who is currently on sabbatical in Ramallah for the semester, was available to provide insight based on his first-hand experiences in the region.

“East Jerusalem is key for many reasons. It is the Arab side of Jerusalem and has historically been the religious, political, and cultural capital of Palestine,” Carter said in an e-mail. “Palestinians are united in demanding that the capital of a Palestinian state be in East Jerusalem.”

Carter concludes that the intended purpose of the East Jerusalem housing project is to “create a situation in which a Palestinian state cannot be formed.”

“And without that option, you are left either with total apartheid of the Palestinian population or a ‘one-state’ solution which Israel will never accept, because of the demographics,” said Carter. “Arabs nearly equal the number of Jews west of the Jordan, and Israel cannot remain a ‘Jewish state’ and be a democracy in one state with those numbers.