Body that authorizes settlement construction to meet after 3-month hiatus

The Defense Ministry announces that its committee responsible for authorizing construction in the West Bank will be convening next Wednesday to advance new housing plans for Israeli settlements.

The Civil Administration High Planning Committee last met in October, when it advanced 2,646 Israeli housing units and gave final approval for construction for 1,323 of them.

Israel told the Trump administration last year that the planning committee would meet once every three months instead of once each month. In addition, Israel can add an unlimited number of housing units to any settlement in the West Bank as long as it does not meaningfully expand the community’s existing territorial “footprint.”

The specific housing plans set to be green-lighted next Wednesday have yet to be released and the Defense Ministry declined to comment further.

—  Jacob Magid