Israel’s government unveiled on Sunday plans to approve thousands of building permits in the occupied West Bank, despite US pressure to halt the expansion of Jewish settlements, which Washington sees as an obstacle to finding a solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Plans to approve 4,560 housing units in various areas of the West Bank were on the agenda of Israel’s Supreme Planning Council, which meets this week, although of those 1,332 are awaiting final approval, while the rest are in the early stages of the process.

Most countries and the UN consider these settlements, built on land captured by Israel in the 1967 war, illegal under international law. Their existence is one of the main points of contention between Israel and the Palestinians.

The State Department announced that it was deeply concerned by this move by Israel and asked it to return to dialogue with a view to de-escalation.

Since January, when Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the most right-wing coalition in Israel’s history, was reinstated as Prime Minister, it has approved the development of more than 7,000 new homes, most of them deep in the West Bank.

It has also amended legislation to pave the way back to settlers of four settlements which have been evacuated.

In response to Israel’s announcement, the Palestinian Authority indicated it would boycott a meeting of the Joint Economic Committee with Israel scheduled for today.

For its part, the Palestinian movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, condemned Israel’s move, pointing out that it will not offer it legitimacy.

Jewish settler groups welcomed the announcement, reports CNN Greece.

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