Israel to approve construction of 850 settlement units in the occupied West Bank

Some 100 houses to be authorized, Israel is expected to approve the construction of some 850 residential units to be erected across West Bank settlements, Kan public broadcaster reported Monday.

According to the report, a Defense Ministry panel is set to convene next week to green-light the construction of 500 houses in the settlements of Beit El, Oranit, Itamar, Givat Ze’ev and Shavei Shomron.

Plans for another 250 residential units are set to be advanced for the outpost of Nofei Nehemiah — but the project is reportedly not approved with certainty.

Under Trump, the US State Department announced that it would no longer deem all settlements as illegal as such, leaving it to the Israeli courts to establish their legality on a case-by-case basis.

The report comes less than two weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who is expected to take a tougher line on Israeli settlements than incumbent US President Donald Trump.

In late November 2020, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited a West Bank winery, becoming the first sitting top US diplomat to visit a Jewish settlement in the area, and, more recently, the US began labeling the goods produced in the settlements as “Made in Israel.”