Israel announced plans on Tuesday for 3,000 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the third such declaration in eleven days since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

Trump has signalled he could be more accommodating toward such projects than his predecessor Barack Obama.

A statement from the Israeli Defence Ministry, which administers lands Israel captured in a 1967 war, said the decision was meant to fulfill demand for housing and “return to life as usual”.

The announcement came close to midnight as preparations began for the eviction of 330 settlers from an outpost in the West Bank. The Supreme Court had ruled that the Amona outpost must be evacuated by Feb 8. because it was built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are due to meet in Washington on Feb. 15. The president’s chief spokesman said last week the two leaders would discuss settlement building.

The muted response from the Trump White House so far on Israel’s settlement announcements has been a clear departure from Obama, whose aides routinely criticized settlement construction plans.

An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more homes in the West Bank drew rebuke from the Palestinians and from the EU. It followed approval of more than 560 new homes in East Jerusalem days before.

Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

Most countries consider settlements illegal and an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians need for a viable state.

Israel disagrees, citing biblical, historical and political connections to the land – which the Palestinians also assert – as well as security interests. </s> Israel announced plans on Tuesday for 3,000 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the third such declaration in eleven days since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

Trump has signaled he could be more accommodating toward such projects than his predecessor Barack Obama.

A statement from the Israeli Defence Ministry, which administers lands Israel captured in a 1967 war, said the decision was meant to fulfill demand for housing and "return to life as usual".

The announcement came close to midnight as preparations began for the eviction of 330 settlers from an outpost in the West Bank. The Supreme Court had ruled that the Amona outpost must be evacuated by Feb 8. because it was built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are due to meet in Washington on Feb. 15. The president's chief spokesman said last week the two leaders would discuss settlement building.

The muted response from the Trump White House so far on Israel's settlement announcements has been a clear departure from Obama, whose aides routinely criticized settlement construction plans.

An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more homes in the West Bank drew rebuke from the Palestinians and from the EU. It followed approval of more than 560 new homes in East Jerusalem days before.

Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

Most countries consider settlements illegal and an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians need for a viable state.

Israel disagrees, citing biblical, historical and political connections to the land - which the Palestinians also assert - as well as security interests. </s> Israeli officials have approved the construction of 3,000 new settlement units in the West Bank as part of a massive expansion policy in occupied Palestinian territory.

"[Israeli] Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have decided to authorize the construction of 3,000 new housing units," the defense ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, 2,000 of the units are ready to be put on the market, while the rest are in various stages of planning.

"We're in a new era where life in Judaea and Samaria (the West Bank) is returning to its natural course," said Lieberman, who himself has long lived in a West Bank settlement.

Since Trump took office with top aides sympathetic to the settlement enterprise, the government has announced a string of new projects that will add more than 6,000 homes for Jewish settlers.

On Jan. 22, Jerusalem's municipality approved the construction of 566 new settlement units in east Jerusalem. The plans, approved by Netanyahu and Lieberman, mark the largest recent announcement of settlement building by Israel.

"We are building and will continue to build," Netanyahu said in the statement.

On Jan. 24, Netanyahu approved the construction of 2,500 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank, according to a statement issued by his Office.

Two days later on Jan. 26, Israeli officials gave the final approval for 153 settler homes in east Jerusalem.

"I'm going to deliver permits for thousands of homes in Jerusalem in the coming months," Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Meir had said at the time.

Meanwhile, Trump has pledged strong support for Israel, and Netanyahu's government has moved quickly to take advantage. The prime minister has said he sees the Trump presidency as offering "significant opportunities" after facing "huge pressures" from Barack Obama.

The accelerated settlement expansion has deeply concerned those seeking to salvage a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The former Obama administration despaired of Israel's accelerating settlement expansion and, in a sharp break with longstanding policy, withheld its veto on a critical U.N. Security Council resolution in its final days.

The international community considers all Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land as illegal and regards their construction as the biggest obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

But in a significant break with the Obama administration, Trump's White House has not condemned any of the four settlement expansions announced by Israel since he took office.

The Palestinians want the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 war, as part of their hoped-for state. The Palestinians want these areas, along with the Gaza Strip, for the establishment of a future Palestinian state.

International law views the West Bank and east Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity on the land as illegal.

Roughly 500,000 Israelis now live in more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built since Israel occupied the Palestinian West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967. </s> Israeli policemen remove a pro-settlement activist during an operation by Israeli forces to evict settlers from the illegal outpost of Amona in the occupied West Bank February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Thursday Israel's building of new settlements or expansion of existing ones in occupied territories may not be helpful in achieving peace with Palestinians, adopting a more measured tone than its previous pro-Israel announcements.

In a statement issued two weeks before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit U.S. President Donald Trump, the White House said the administration "has not taken an official position on settlement activity."

Trump, a Republican, has signaled he could be more accommodating toward settlement projects than his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. The latest statement reflects slightly more nuanced language on how the new administration views settlement activity.

"While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal," the White House said in a statement.

The statement could disappoint Israel's far-right which had hoped Trump would give an unqualified green light on rapid settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem - areas Israel captured in the 1967 war.

Former president Obama routinely criticized settlement construction plans and his administration often described settlement activity as lacking legitimacy and impeding peace.

The White House statement came as Israel has ratcheted up settlement activity. On Wednesday, it said it would establish a new settlement in the occupied West Bank, the first since the late 1990s. It also announced plans for 3,000 more settlement homes in the West Bank, the third such declaration in less than two weeks since Trump took office.

An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more dwellings in the West Bank, territory captured in the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war and where Palestinians now seek statehood, drew rebukes from the Palestinians and the European Union. </s> Alwaght- Israeli regime has approved plans to build 3,000 more settlements on the occupied lands of West Bank despite global condemnation.

The regime’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and his minister for military affairs, Avigdor Lieberman have approved the projects that were announced through a statement on Tuesday.

Emboldened by January 20 inauguration of Trump, Tel Aviv launched its major settlement expansion drive.

Just a few days after Trump's swearing-in, Israeli regime announced some 2,500 settler units in the West Bank and around 500 more in al-Quds.

Last week, Netanyahu said that Israel’s settlement approval is just a “taste” of new measures, which will be taken now that Barack Obama is no longer the US president.

Over 230 illegal settlements have been constructed since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. The illegal structures have hampered attempts to establish peace in the West Asia. In December 2016, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2334 that denounced the Israeli settlements as a "flagrant violation of international law." </s> The White House warned the Israeli government Thursday to stop announcing plans to build new settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu's office announced Wednesday that for the first time in two decades, Israel planned to build 3,000 new settlement homes in the disputed territory.

Thursday, the White House issued a brief statement that the new administration has not taken an official position on settlements in the West Bank, but adding that "the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful" in achieving peace.

The White House said at the time that Trump emphasized "the deep and abiding" partnership between the two countries and that he "affirmed his unprecedented commitment to Israel's security."

Former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson has been sworn in as secretary of state during a ceremony with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Feb. 1. The Senate approved Tillerson's nomination earlier Wednesday on a vote of 56-43. (Published Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017) </s> The White House says new Israeli settlements or the expansion of existing ones beyond their current borders may not help achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

"While we don't believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal," the White House said in a statement.
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Spokesman Sean Spicer says U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has yet to take an official position on settlement construction.

Spicer says Trump looks forward to continuing to discuss the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the White House on Feb. 15.

In Israel on Thursday, Netanyahu vowed to establish the first new West Bank settlement in more than two decades "as soon as possible."

Trump has signalled a softer line toward settlements, which most of the international community views as illegal. </s> The White House says new Israeli settlements or the expansion of existing ones beyond their current borders may not help achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Spokesman Sean Spicer says President Donald Trump’s administration doesn’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, although it has yet to take an official position on settlement construction.

Spicer says Trump looks forward to continuing to discuss the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the White House on Feb. 15.

In Israel on Thursday, Netanyahu vowed to establish the first new West Bank settlement in more than two decades “as soon as possible.”

Trump has signaled a softer line toward settlements, which most of the international community views as illegal. </s> Israel has approved another 153 settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem and planning permits for another 11,000 buildings, the city’s deputy mayor has said.

The vast expansion in building over the 1967 Green Line – viewed as illegal by the international community – comes after the announcement of thousands more homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the last week.

The bold new policy approach has come into effect since US President Donald Trump – who is sympathetic to Israeli interests – took office last week.

The planned permits had been previously held up until the end of former President Barack Obama’s tenure, said Meir Turgeman, chair of the city hall’s planning and building committee, on Thursday. Mr Obama’s administration was critical of Israeli settlements, warning that such construction was chipping away at hopes for a two-state solution.

The additional 153 buildings will be located in Gilo, an established settlement neighbourhood. The move comes after 566 new settler housing units were announced last Sunday.

Separately, Israel’s Defence Ministry announced on Monday a planned 2,500 homes in the West Bank.

Both the United Nations and the European Union condemned the accelerated settlement expansion initiatives earlier this week.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation has demanded international action on the major expansions, saying in a statement it believed the Israeli moves came as a result of “what they consider encouragement by American President Donald Trump.”

The incoming Trump administration has struck a much less critical tone towards Israel than his predecessor.

Mr Trump spoke with Isareli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday in what was described as a “very warm” conversation.

His pick for ambassador to the country, David Friedman, is strongly pro-settlements.

Since the 1970s successive Israeli governments have encouraged large numbers of Jews to move onto what is viewed internationally as occupied land.

The total settler population in the West Bank is now thought to be 550,000 strong.

Settlement building, which has increased year-on-year under the right-wing Mr Netanyahu, is viewed as one of the major stumbling blocks to a lasting peace deal in the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mr Netanyahu says the Palestinian failure to recognise Israel as a Jewish state is the biggest obstacle to peace, rather than settlements. </s> Israeli police dragged nationalist youths out of a barricaded synagogue on Thursday, completing the forced evacuation of an illegal outpost in the West Bank even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to build evicted families a new settlement.

Some 100 youngsters protesting against the removal of some 300 settlers from Amona, an outpost built without Israeli government authorisation, kicked at police who used a high-pressure hose and a wooden pole to batter down sheet metal and furniture blocking the entrances to the synagogue.

The teenagers painted a Nazi swastika on a synagogue wall next to a slogan denouncing the police.

The evacuation began on Wednesday, when most of the families that settled in Amona were removed. But the youths holed up in the synagogue overnight.

Police, announcing that Amona had been cleared, said some 60 officers were slightly hurt in the two-day operation. Hospitals reported that at least four protesters had been treated for injuries.

Amona, built in 1995, was the largest of scores of outposts erected in the West Bank without formal approval. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled last November that it must be evacuated because it stands on privately-owned Palestinian land.

In a statement late on Wednesday and again in a speech in the West Bank on Thursday, Netanyahu said a new settlement would be built for Amona’s families and that a committee would be set up to locate a site.

“We will work to have it happen as soon as possible,” he said, speaking in the West Bank settlement of Ariel.

Once constructed, it will be the first new settlement built in the West Bank since 1999. Construction in existing settlements has raised to 350,000 the number of Israelis living in the territory, which was captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Another 200,000 Israelis live in East Jerusalem, also seized in that conflict.

Most countries consider all Israeli settlements to be illegal. Israel disagrees, citing historical and political links to the land – which the Palestinians also assert – as well as security interests.

Since Donald Trump took office as US president on Jan 20, Israel has announced plans for almost 6,000 more settlement homes in the West Bank, drawing European and Palestinian condemnation but no criticism from the White House.

Trump, a Republican, has signalled he could be more accommodating toward settlements than his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama.

Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, which Israeli forces and settlers left in 2005, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Israel announces it will build an entirely new settlement in the West Bank for the first time in about twenty years. Many in the international community believe that such settlements are illegal but Israel disputes that. The settlement program is illegal under international law.