Israel’s defence minister said today he plans to seek approval next week for the construction of some 2,500 new homes in illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Avigdor Lieberman, writing on Twitter, said a regional planning board would be asked to designate 1,400 of the housing units for immediate construction.

“We will promote building in all of Judea and Samaria, from the north to south, in small communities and in large ones,” Lieberman wrote, using the Israeli name for the occupied West Bank.

There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials, who have long argued that Israeli settlements could deny them a viable and contiguous country.

Some 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas that are also home to more than 2.6 million Palestinians.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

US envoy poses with photo depicting Jewish temple at Al-Aqsa Mosque