Israel municipality approves hundreds of settlement homes in east Jerusalem

The Jerusalem municipality approved building permits for more than 560 housing units in three East Jerusalem settlements on Sunday, two days after President Donald Trump took office in the United States (US).

Chairman of Jerusalem city hall's Planning and Building committee Meir Turgeman told Israel Radio the permits were held up until the end of the Barack Obama administration, which was critical of Israeli settlement activity. 

The Palestinians want an independent state in the East Jerusalem West Bank, and Gaza  areas Israel captured in a 1967 war. Israel disputes that settlements are illegal and says their final status should be determined in any future talks on Palestinian statehood. 

Israel has built scores of settlements in the West Bank, territory that Palestinians seek for an independent state. Most countries view the settlements as illegal. Israel disputes this. The last Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014.