Israel approves 2,500 more West Bank settler homes

Israel has approved the construction of 2,500 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, only days after moving forward with building permits for 566 houses in three east Jerusalem settlements, despite a landmark UN resolution demanding an end to such activity.

The plans, approved by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, marked the largest recent announcement of settlement building by Israel.

The defence ministry announced the plans in a statement, saying most of the homes would be located within large settlement blocks in the West Bank.

Around 100 are to be located in the settlement of Beit El near Ramallah, it said. A Palestinian industrial zone near the West Bank city of Hebron was also approved.

Netanyahu spoke of the settlement approvals on Twitter.

"We are building and we will continue building," he said.

Trump has signalled strong support for Israel, and Israeli right-wing politicians have sought to take advantage, with hardliners calling for an end to the idea of a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu has said he still supports a two-state solution, but reportedly told ministers on Sunday that all restrictions on building settlements in annexed east Jerusalem were being lifted.

He also said Sunday he plans to expand construction in large settlement blocks in the West Bank, Israeli media reported, and that he foresees eventually bringing all settlements under Israeli sovereignty.

But the US and others say continued settlement building is steadily eating away at the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Some 430,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank and a further 200,000 Israelis live in annexed east Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as the capital of their future state.