Israel said Thursday it would establish 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank , including the legalization of outposts already built without government authorization. Neighboring Jordan and Britain slammed the move, with a top U.K. official calling it a "deliberate obstacle" to Palestinian statehood.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. The majority of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to resolving the decades-old conflict.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the settlement decision "strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria," using the biblical term for the West Bank. He said it "anchors our his

See Full Page