Israel approves over 1,100 West Bank settlement homes – NGO

Israeli authorities have approved more than 1,100 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the Peace Now NGO said on Thursday. The approvals were given on Wednesday by a Defense Ministry committee with responsibility for settlement construction, AFP reported. Some 352 of the homes received final approval, while the others are at an earlier stage of the process, according to Hagit Ofran of Peace Now, which monitors settlement building. A total of 1,122 housing units were advanced, including seven existing homes that were given retroactive approval.