A growing number of congressional Democrats are criticizing the Obama administration for reacting so strongly to Israel decision to announce new settlements while Joe Biden was visiting the country. White House officials have called the announcement “insulting,” and senior adviser David Axelrod said this weekend that it was “calculated” to undermine peace talks. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apparently took Prime Minister Netenyahu to task for the timing of the announcement, which forced Biden to issue a statement condeming the decision just as he was between meetings with top Israeli officials.