In Trump's final days, Netanyahu orders more settler homes built

FILE PHOTO: Palestinian demonstrators stand in front of a Jewish settlement during a protest, in Kafr Qaddum in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/File Photo

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered construction plans advanced on Monday for some 800 Jewish settler homes in the occupied West Bank, anchoring the projects in the final days of the pro-settlement Trump administration.

Palestinians condemned such construction as illegal. The timing of the move appeared to be an attempt to set Israel's blueprint in indelible ink before Joe Biden, who has been critical of its settlement policies, becomes U.S. president on Jan. 20.