Israel is moving forward on plans to build more than 1,700 homes for settlers in Judea and Samaria, the settlement watchdog Peace Now said late last week.
Peace Now said the housing was spread over 10 communities, some in areas the Palestinians want for a future state. About 1,000 units were in the initial stages of approval, whereas 700 received near-final approval. A military planning committee granted Thursday's approvals.
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The housing approvals came days ahead of national elections in Israel on March 2, the third straight vote in less than a year after the previous two ended inconclusively.
The approvals also come weeks after the Trump administration unveiled its long-anticipated Mideast peace plan, which envisions Israel annexing parts of Judea and Samaria. It grants the Palestinians a state with limited autonomy over chunks of land but only if they meet a set of demands that would require them to drastically alter what has been their baseline for negotiations for decades.
