Benjamin Netanyahu

Jerusalem (IINA) : Israel government stated on Tuesday that it approved 2,500 West Bank settlement homes, Time reported.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on the approval “in response to housing needs.”

He says the majority of the housing units will be built in settlement blocs, areas where most settlers live and which Israel wants to keep under its control under any future peace deal with the Palestinians.

The election of US President Donald Trump has emboldened pro-settlement lawmakers, including Lieberman and Netanyahu. Trump has indicated that he will be more sympathetic to Israeli settlement construction.

Netanyahu’s approval of new housing units built on occupied Arab land is the second of its kind since Donald Trump assumed the U.S. presidency on Friday.

On Sunday, Israel approved construction of 566 new settlement units in East Jerusalem.

Settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, occupied since 1967, is considered illegal under international law, and the international community views it as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.