Jerusalem, Jul 5 (IANS): An Israeli regulatory body has approved plans for building 5,295 new settler homes throughout the occupied West Bank, a settlement monitoring group said.

Peace Now, an Israeli-based settlement watchdog, stated in a press release that the Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration approved the new construction during a two-day discussion on Wednesday and Thursday, reported Xinhua news agency.

The building plans include the expansion of settlements deep within the West Bank and the retroactive legalisation of three outposts, which were originally built by settlers without official Israeli permits.

As part of their legalisation, the statement said the three outposts, namely Mahane Gadi, Givat Hanan, and Kedem Arava, were declared "neighbourhoods" of existing settlements.

The approval of the new settler housing units came a day after Israeli authorities approved the appropriation of 12.7 square km of land in the West Bank, marking the largest single appropriation in about three decades.

Israel took control of the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and has expanded settlements there ever since.