Netanyahu to expedite plans for 1,000 new settler homes

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem October 26, 2014. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will expedite planning for some 1,000 settler homes in East Jerusalem, a government official said on Monday, in a bid to placate a restive coalition ally without further aggravating a dispute with Washington.

The ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party, led by Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, has been issuing veiled threats to sever its political partnership with Netanyahu unless he agrees to its call for 2,000 new building tenders in settlements in the occupied West Bank.