Jerusalem, May 24 (IANS): Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Thursday that he would request approval from a planning committee for the construction of 2,500 new housing units in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank.

"The 2,500 new units we'll approve in the planning committee next week are for immediate construction in 2018," Lieberman said, adding he would also seek the committee's approval for a further 1,400 settlement units for later construction.

Lieberman pointed out that 1,400 houses were to be immediately built across Judea and Samaria, the Biblical names for the West Bank, in an attempt to expand the Israeli settlements there, Efe news reported.

Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory to be illegal, since international law prohibits an occupying power from transferring its population to territory under occupation.

In addition, the UN, the EU and many other countries consider the settlements to be one of the main obstacles to reaching a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine.