Israel OKs 2,500 West Bank homes

Palestinian Authority says move will promote terrorism

AVIV, Emboldened TEL ISRAEL by Donald Trump’s presidency, Israel approved 2,500 settler homes in the West Bank on Tuesday, a sign the new U. S. chief executive will tolerate construction that the Obama administration and United Nations recently condemned.

“We are returning to normal life in Judea and Samaria,” Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, using the Israeli government’s names for the West Bank, which Palestinians claim as theirs for an independent state.

The decision was agreed upon “in response to local housing needs,” Lieberman said.

Trump has not endorsed expanded settlements, but has vowed to move the U. S. Embassy to Jerusalem, a break from U. S. policy that calls for negotiations between Israel and Palestinians on the future of the city.

“We’re building — and will continue to build,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Facebook after Israel approved the new settlements.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the latest settlement plans, saying they would “promote extremism and terrorism,” according to the Times of Israel.

The Defense Ministry said about 100 units were approved in settlements such as Beit El.

Beit El has received donations from Trump’s son- in- law and adviser, Jared Kushner, and the designated U. S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.

Under international law, Israeli settlements are considered to be illegal.