The Israeli government has announced plans to build more than 3.400 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
About 70 percent of the houses will be built in Male Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and the rest in nearby Kedar and Efrat, south of Bethlehem, writes the BBC.
Israel has built about 160 settlements where about 700.000 Jews live since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, which the Palestinians want as part of a future state.
Israel's Haaretz newspaper reports that the Higher Civil Administration Planning Committee, the body that implements Israeli government policy in the West Bank, today announced plans to build 3.476 homes for settlers - 2.452 in Male Adumim, 694 in Efrat and 330 in Kedar.
Construction has reportedly been approved to begin in June and is Israel's response to attacks near Mala Adumim two weeks ago that left casualties. The Palestinian Authority condemned these intentions.
Most of the international community considers the settlements to be illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
(BETA)
At least 30.717 Palestinians have been killed and 72.156 wounded since October 7 in the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, the Gaza Ministry of Health announced today, reports Reuters.
About 86 Palestinians were killed and 113 wounded in the previous 24 hours, the ministry added.
The war between Israel and Hamas has entered its 152th day.
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