JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities have advanced plans to build over 2,100 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank. Wednesday’s development indicates they are pressing ahead with a building boom that has gained steam during the presidency of Donald Trump. The approval raised the number of settlement homes to be advanced this year to nearly 9,500. That’s according to a settlement watchdog group. It’s by far the highest number of approvals since Trump took office in early 2017. The Civil Administration’s higher planning council, the defense body that grants the approvals, is set to meet again on Thursday, meaning that figure could go even higher.
