OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel approved 2,166 new homes in settlements across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, official figures seen by AFP showed, ending an eight-month lull in settlement expansion.

The approvals came less than a month after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements to normalise relations with Israel, which in return pledged to freeze its plans to annex swathes of the West Bank.

NGO Peace Now said the settlement uptick signalled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of Palestinian statehood and deals a blow to hopes of a wider Israeli-Arab peace.

It said around 2,000 more homes were expected to be approved on Thursday.—AFP