Israel moved forward on Wednesday with plans to build some 3,000 housing units in Judea and Samaria, a day after the State Department said it was "strongly opposed" to the proposals in what was the strongest rebuke yet of the Biden administration on Israeli policy.
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An Israeli defense official said a planning forum of Israel's liaison office with the Palestinians gave preliminary approval for plans to build 1,344 housing units and its final go-ahead for projects to construct 1,800 homes.
The move could set off a potential clash between Israel and Washington, although both Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and US President Joe Biden have in recent weeks stressed their desire to work on common goals and find a way to resolve longstanding differences regarding such contentious issues.
The United States had already voiced strong opposition to the plans to advance the settlement units, saying such moves would damage prospects of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Ahead of the planning committee's meeting, Israel on Sunday published tenders for about 1,300 new settlement homes, triggering a strong response from the State Department on Tuesday, in which it said it was "deeply concerned." State Department spokesman Ned Price also said that efforts to retroactively legalize outposts that have not been formally approved were "unacceptable."
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