Obama warns Israel on building settlements

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama warned Israel that its decision to build new settlements in a Palestinian area won't help Middle East peace efforts.

Also, Obama said Wednesday during an interview with Fox News in Beijing, the rising U.S. national debt could result in a "double-dip recession." The president is on his first Asian trip since taking office in January.

Obama said Israel's move to build hundreds of new settlements was potentially harmful.

"The situation in the Middle East is very difficult, and I've said repeatedly and I'll say again, Israel's security is a vital national interest to the United States, and we will make sure they are secure," Obama said. "I think that additional settlement building does not contribute to Israel's security. I think it makes it harder for them to make peace with their neighbors. I think it embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous."

On the domestic economic front, Obama said his administration was looking at tax incentives as a way to encourage businesses to hire sooner rather than later to help reverse the rising jobless rate,

"I think it is important, though, to recognize if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession," he told Fox News.