Israel approved on Wednesday 284 new housing units in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank at a time of heightened international concern over a construction drive on land Palestinians seek for a state.
Israel's government on Sunday approved nearly $13mn in financing for the West Bank settlements of Kiryat Arba and within Hebron, officials said, following a wave of Palestinian attacks in the area.
Israel should stop building settlements, denying Palestinian development and designating land for exclusive Israeli use that Palestinians seek for a future state, the Middle East peace "Quartet" recommended in a draft of an eagerly awaited report seen by Reuters.
