Israel approves of Palestinian construction

JERUSALEM — The Israeli Cabinet unanimously approved a proposal to build over 700 housing units for Palestinians in addition to 6,000 Israeli settlement housing units in the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government advanced the proposal late on Tuesday, according to an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the closed-door meeting.

A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded to the development by saying that the Palestinians don’t need Israeli permits to build on land that Israel occupied.

The approval appeared timed to coincide with a visit by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is also the White House’s chief Mideast envoy.

Kushner kicked off a new regional tour in Jordan on Wednesday to promote the Trump administration’s call for a $50 billion economic support plan for the Palestinians. The funds would accompany a Mideast peace proposal, which the administration has yet to release. He then flew to Israel and met with Netanyahu later in the evening.

The Israeli permits are for construction in what is known as Area C — the roughly 60% of the West Bank where Israel exercises full control and where most Jewish settlements are located. Netanyahu’s government has approved the construction of tens of thousands of settler homes there, but permits for Palestinian construction are extremely rare.

Israeli officials declined to provide specifics to The Associated Press about what exactly the 700 approved Palestinian units entailed.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek these areas as parts of a future state. Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law and an impediment to a two-state solution to the conflict.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Abbas’ spokesman, said the Palestinians have the right to build on all territory occupied in 1967, “without needing a permit from anyone” — referring to Israel.

“We will not give any legitimacy to the construction of any settlement,” he also said.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority has control of civilian affairs in Areas A and B, which include the West Bank’s main Palestinian cities and towns.

Since capturing the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967, Israel has settled some 700,000 of its citizens in the two areas, which are considered occupied territory by most of the world.