Sharjah 24 – AFP: Israel is to approve 2,000 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, defence sources said Thursday, despite opposition from dovish members of the governing coalition.
The Palestinians swiftly condemned the latest settlement expansion plans, the first of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's administration.
A security source said the permits for Jewish settlements would come alongside approvals for hundreds of Palestinian homes in the large swathe of the West Bank known as Area C, where Israel exercises military and planning control.
"There is an expectation to approve about 1,000 housing units for Palestinians in Area C next week and 2,000 housing units in the Jewish communities," the source said on condition of anonymity.
The office of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas expressed its "strong rejection and condemnation" of the new settler homes, saying they contradicted "the clear American position" President Joe Biden expressed in a call with Abbas.
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