Israel has given final approval for 764 housing units to be built in three settlements in the occupied West Bank, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Wednesday, a move condemned by the Palestinian Authority as undermining regional peace efforts.

The ultra-nationalist Smotrich, who opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, said that since the beginning of his term in late 2022, some 51,370 housing units have been approved by the government’s Higher Planning Council in the West Bank, territory Palestinians seek for a future state.

Palestinian state news agency WAFA said the Palestinian Authority called on U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to pressure Israel over its settlement policies.

Washington should press Israel to “reverse their settlement policies, attempts at a

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