US repeats call on Israel to ‘hold back’ settlement activity

US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner reiterated Tuesday that Washington "would like to see Israel hold back on settlement activity", as President Donald Trump said during his press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu last month. He added that the US is "in discussions with Israel as to what that would look like" but is "still at a stage where we are looking at the situation and formulating next steps". Toner made the comments at the first State Department press briefing since the Trump administration took office.