clipped from: english.aljazeera.net   
Israel permits new settlement homes

Israel has approved the construction of 50 new homes in a West Bank settlement and announced plans to expropriate more Palestinian land.

Israel has approved 50 new settlement units in the West Bank and plans to build 1,400 more [AFP]

The move comes just hours before Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, visits the US in a bid to defuse tensions over Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

The land grab and new permits come despite a demand from Barack Obama, the US president, for a complete freeze to all Israeli settlement activity, and could exacerbate a rare public spat between the allies.