Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Thursday he plans to seek approval next week for the construction of some 2,500 new homes in over 30 Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Lieberman, writing on Twitter, said the Central Planning Bureau in Judea and Samaria would be asked to designate 1,400 of the housing units for immediate construction.
The main settlements where construction plans will be submitted for approval are Maaleh Adumim, with 460 units; Ariel, with 400; Talmon, with 180; Neve Daniel, with 170; Kfar Etzion, with 160; Kiryat Arba, with 150; Avnei Hefetz, with 130; Teneh Omarim, with 130; Hinanit, with 80; and Halamish, with 60.
"We will promote building in all of Judea and Samaria, from the north to south, in small communities and in large ones," Lieberman wrote.
In a statement reported by Israeli media, he noted that in addition to the 2,500 new housing units to be approved next week, "in the coming months we will bring thousands of additional housing units. We will continue to settle and develop Judea and Samaria."
There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials, who have long argued that Israeli settlements could deny them a viable and contiguous country.
Palestinians want the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, for a future state. Most countries consider settlements that Israel has built in territory it captured in the 1967 Six-Day War to be illegal.
Israel disputes that its settlements are illegal and says their future should be determined in peace talks with the Palestinians.
