Israel advances largest batch of settlement homes since Trump took office


The Defense Ministry body responsible for authorizing settlement construction has advanced plans for over 3,600 West Bank homes, a spokeswoman for the agency told The Times of Israel on Sunday.
The Civil Administration’s High Planning Subcommittee cleared the majority of the plans through an earlier planning stage known as “deposit” during its meeting last Thursday, and 1,226 homes received final approval for construction throughout the West Bank, in a session that took place shortly before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he planned to extend Israeli sovereignty to all settlements if he wins the upcoming elections.
Under unofficial settlement guidelines coordinated with the White House when US President Donald Trump took office, Israel agreed that the Civil Administration committee would meet once every three months instead of once every month. Whereas past sessions have seen the advancement of 1,000 to 2,000 homes, the 3,659 on the docket last Thursday represented the largest batch of homes advanced since Trump took office — itself a period of Israeli growth beyond the Green Line in comparison to the eight years under Barack Obama.


Nearly 1,200 of the homes advanced will be located well beyond the Green Line in isolated settlements such as Shilo, Elon Moreh, Rehelim, Mitzpe Jericho and Nokdim.