Israel approves plans for nearly 5,300 new homes in West Bank settlements

Palestinians collect food from airdropped aid parcels in the Hamad City area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 4, 2024. A Palestinian family gathers around a makeshift wood stove in a damaged building in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 4, 2024.

The Israeli government has approved plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank, a monitoring group said Thursday, the latest in a campaign to accelerate settlement expansion, aimed at cementing Israeli control over the territory and preventing the establishment of a future Palestinian state.