Israel to build 400 new houses in West Bank

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman pledged on Friday to construct 400 new housing units in the Jewish settlement in the West Bank in response to an attack on Thursday involving a Palestinian killing an Israeli citizen in the area.

On Thursday, a 17-year old Palestinian carried out the attack in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Adam, located just outside Jerusalem.

He injured two locals, one of whom later died in the hospital.

The attacker was shot dead by another local, who also sustained injuries.

“The best response to terrorism is the expansion of settlement activities in Judea and Samaria Israeli name for the West Bank.

“I have decided to promote the plan for building 400 housing units in the settlement of Adam and to approve the plan in the bodies responsible for housing planning,” Lieberman wrote in a tweet.

Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition for their state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, along with the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli government along with a number of other countries refuse to recognise Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity, and continues to build settlements in the occupied areas in spite of objections from the UN.