FILE PHOTO: Labourers work at a construction site in the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 7, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel will build 6,000 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank - a move Palestinian leaders decried as showing Israel's "colonial mentality" - but in a rare step it also approved permits for 700 houses for Palestinians.
Washington warmed to Wednesday's announcement, made ahead of a visit by President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner to explore prospects for his own Israeli-Palestinian peace plan. Details of the plan remain vague, however.
