Israel plans 3000 new homes

Israel announced plans for 3,000 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the third such declaration in eleven days since US President Donald Trump took office.

Trump has signaled he could be more accommodating toward such projects than his predecessor Barack Obama.

A statement from the Israeli Defence Ministry, which administers lands Israel captured in a 1967 war, said the decision was meant to fulfill demand for housing and "return to life as usual".

The late Tuesday announcement came as Israeli police began evicting dozens of hardline Jewish settlers from a wildcat outpost in the West Bank yesterday. The Supreme Court had ruled that the Amona outpost must be evacuated by Feb 8 because it was built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land.

Police arrested four protesters and distanced dozens of others from Amona, with seven of the families so far evacuating peacefully with their children.

Youths confronted the forces with chants such as "How will you feel tomorrow after you evacuate a Jew from his home?" and "Today it's me, tomorrow it will be you," as police began evacuating them from the area.

Earlier, some women holding children left their homes, as youths barricaded themselves inside, reports AFP.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are due to meet in Washington on Feb 15. The president's chief spokesman said last week the two leaders would discuss settlement building.

The muted response from the Trump White House so far on Israel's settlement announcements has been a clear departure from Obama, whose aides routinely criticized settlement construction plans.

An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more homes in the West Bank drew rebuke from the Palestinians and from the EU. It followed approval of more than 560 new homes in East Jerusalem days before.

Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for an independent state, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

Most countries consider settlements illegal and an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians need for a viable state.