Israel has given rare approval to Palestinian homes in the part of the West Bank it fully controls while backing a large settlement expansion, ahead of a visit by White House adviser Jared Kushner.
An Israeli official confirmed the approval by the country’s security cabinet on Tuesday, ahead of the arrival of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser.
The approval of 700 homes for Palestinians and 6000 for Israeli settlers comes as the White House seeks to promote Mr Kushner’s long-awaited peace plan.
It was not immediately clear whether all the homes would be new or if some already existed and were receiving retroactive approval.
While the number of homes approved for Palestinians is relatively small and far outweighed by the number of settlement homes, the move could allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say he is making efforts to make the Kushner plan succeed.
Mr Kushner visited Jordan on Wednesday before travelling to Jerusalem, where he met Mr Netanyahu. The meeting at the Prime Minister’s office was also attended by a trio of US officials — Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt, Iran envoy Brian Hook and Washington’s ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.
Mr Kushner has said his plan would not mention a two-state solution because “it means one thing to the Israelis, it means one thing to the Palestinians”.
Read the article in The Australian (AFP).