Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett approved this afternoon, Wednesday, the construction of 7,000 new settlement units, to expand the "Efrat" settlement on the lands of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
"I have given the green light to thousands of new housing units in Efrat, Gush Etzion," said a statement issued by Bennett, of whom Xinhua obtained a copy.
He added that "the momentum of construction in the country should not be stopped for a moment."
The statement indicated that the new settlement units will greatly enhance the Gush Etzion settlement complex.
According to the statement, approval was obtained after the completion of the legal procedures.
The Minister of the Occupation Army instructed the so-called "Commissioner of Government Property and Abandoned Property in the West Bank" to grant planning permission.
The settlement file is one of the most prominent aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and one of the main reasons for stopping the last negotiations between the two sides before mid-2014.
