Tel Aviv, September 26 (RHC)-- Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the construction of thousands more homes in the occupied West Bank, in complete defiance of international outcry against the Tel Aviv regime’s policies of land grab and illegal settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian lands, a report says.

Palestinian Arabic-language Ma’an news agency, citing a report published by Israel’s Channel 7 media network, reported that Netanyahu had given the green light for plans to build over 5,000 units, after more than six months during which such construction had been frozen.

The report added that there have been contacts between settlement leaders and Netanyahu over the past few days, where Jewish extremists have called on the Israeli premier to end the freeze on settlement construction activities in the West Bank or face large-scale protests against his administration.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.  All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories in several resolutions.