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As Trump takes office, Israel pushes ahead with settlements

Associated Press
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

The Israeli settlement of Maaleh Adumim looms over Arab Bedouin shacks in the West Bank, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. The municipality of Jerusalem has granted final approval for the construction of hundreds of new homes in east Jerusalem, while a hard-line Cabinet minister pushed the government to annex Maaleh Adumim, a major West Bank settlement as emboldened Israeli nationalists welcomed the presidency of Donald Trump. The building plans were put on hold in the final months of President Barack Obama's administration. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) (The Associated Press)

Workers carry material at a construction site in the West bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. The municipality of Jerusalem has granted final approval for the construction of hundreds of new homes in east Jerusalem, while a hard-line Cabinet minister pushed the government to annex Maaleh Adumim, a major West Bank settlement as emboldened Israeli nationalists welcomed the presidency of Donald Trump. The building plans were put on hold in the final months of President Barack Obama's administration. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) (The Associated Press)

The Jerusalem municipality is pushing forward with 566 new housing units for Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem.

The building plans were put on hold in the final months of President Barack Obama's administration and were announced Sunday following the inauguration of Donald Trump. It wasn't immediately clear whether the project needs further approvals or when construction would begin.

Israel clashed frequently with Obama over construction in areas it conquered in the 1967 Mideast war. Most of the world considers settlements illegal or illegitimate.

But Israel's hardline government has high expectations for Trump, who has signaled he will take a far kinder approach to them.

Trump's appointed ambassador to Israel has close ties to Jewish West Bank settlements as does the foundation run by the family of Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.