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Jerusalem: Despite pressure from the United States to halt settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, which Washington sees as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians, Israel’s nationalist religious government plans on Sunday to approve thousands of building permits.

Israel’s Supreme Planning Council will meet next week to discuss approval plans for 4,560 housing units in various areas of the West Bank. However, only 1,332 homes need final approval, and the rest are still in the initial approval process.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has a key role in administering the West Bank, said: “We will continue to develop the settlements and strengthen Israel’s hold on the territory.

Settlements built on land taken by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war are considered illegal by most countries. One of the main problems of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is their presence.

Palestine wants to build an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital. Since 2014, US-facilitated peace talks have stalled.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition has approved the construction of more than 7,000 new homes since he took office in January. This is particularly the case in the West Bank.

In addition, he changed the law to allow settlers to return to the four previously evacuated settlements.

The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank, said it would boycott the Joint Economic Committee meeting with Israel scheduled for Monday in response to Israel’s decision on Sunday.

After Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2007, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, condemned the move, saying it “will not give (Israel) legitimacy in our land . Our people will oppose it at all costs.

The announcement was well received by Jewish settler groups.

Using West Bank names taken from the Israeli Bible, Shlomo Ne’eman, Mayor of the Gush Etzion Regional Council and Chairman of the Yesha Council, said: “People voted to continue development in Judea and Samaria and the of the Jordan, and rightly so. ”