Quds city, Sept 6, SPA -- The Israeli government has authorized construction of 117 homes in one of the West Bank's largest settlements and approved preliminary plans for an additional 3,000 housing units there, officials said Tuesday, despite repeated U.S. appeals that Israel freeze settlement expansion. The latest housing plans threatened to raise tensions with the United States just days before Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to travel to New York to address the U.N. General Assembly. Sharon is expected to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush and other global leaders during the trip. The plans also drew swift condemnations from the Palestinians, who claim all of the West Bank for part of a future independent state, The Associated Press reported.
