West Bank construction approved

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, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe the closeddoor meeting.

The approval appeared timed to coincide with a visit by President Trump’s soninlaw 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.

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.

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 twostate solution to the conflict.