MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd August, 2018) Israel's Civil Administration approved on Wednesday the construction of 382 new housing units in the West Bank settlements, local media reported.
This approval is final and means that the construction might start without any delays as any other approvals of some other departments are not required, according to the Haaretz newspaper.
The administration also discussed plans to construct several hundred more houses in the West Bank, however, it will need an approval from the Higher Planning Council, the publication said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Higher Planning Council also advanced plans for hundreds of new housing units in Adam settlement, also known as Geva Binyamin.
Israeli policy of building settlements in the West Bank, which is divided by zones of Israel's and Palestinian authority's control, is one of the main cornerstones for continuation of peace talks between the conflicting sides.
In its annual report in March, Israeli NGO Peace said that the number of Israeli settlements being constructed on the territories of the West Bank, excluding Jerusalem, grew by 17 percent in comparison to the yearly average of the past years.
Resolution 2334, adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council in 2016, states that the Israeli activity of building settlements on Palestinian territories, occupied since 1967, constitutes a violation of international law.
