The Israeli government presented yesterday Sunday its plans for the approval of thousands of building permits in the occupied West Bank, despite US pressure to stop the expansion of Jewish settlements, which Washington sees as an obstacle to finding a solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Plans to approve 4,560 housing units in various areas of the West Bank were on the agenda of Israel’s Supreme Planning Council, which meets this week, although of those 1,332 are awaiting final approval, while the rest are in the early stages of the process.

“We will continue to develop the settlements and strengthen Israel’s presence in the region,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has also taken over much of the administration of the West Bank.

Most countries and the UN consider these settlements, built on land captured by Israel in the 1967 war, illegal under international law. Their existence is one of the main points of contention between Israel and the Palestinians.

The State Department announced that it was “deeply concerned” by this move by Israel and asked it to return to dialogue with a view to de-escalation.

“Following its longstanding policy, the United States opposes such unilateral actions that make the two-state solution more difficult to achieve and are an obstacle to peace,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Since January, when Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the most right-wing coalition in Israel’s history, was reinstated as prime minister, he has approved the development of more than 7,000 new homes, most of them deep in the West Bank.

It has also amended legislation to pave the way for the return of settlers from four settlements who have been evacuated.

In response to Israel’s announcement, the Palestinian Authority indicated that he would boycott a meeting of the Joint Economic Committee with Israel, scheduled for today.

For its part, the Palestinian movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, condemned Israel’s move, pointing out that it “will not provide it with legitimacy. Our people will resist in every way.”

Jewish settler groups welcomed the announcement.

“The people have chosen to continue building in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, and that’s how it should be,” said Shlomo Neeman, president of the Gesha Council, the organization that represents local settlement authorities in the West Bank, using the biblical name of the area.