Israel's Housing Ministry is reviving controversial plans for a new neighbourhood in Jerusalem that falls outside of the 1967 borders and inside the West Bank, according to the Israeli TV outlet Channel 10.
The 10,000-strong neighbourhood is reportedly planned for the site of the now defunct Atarot Airport, north of Jerusalem, and is aimed at providing housing for ultra-Orthodox Israelis.
The plan was drawn up several years ago by the Jerusalem municipality, but had been put on hold due to the strong opposition of the administration of the former US President Barack Obama, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
After Donald Trump's inauguration in January, however, Israel started advancing the plan again, and is set to make it public on Jerusalem Day in May, according to Channel 10.
Atarot Airport was abandoned at the beginning of the second intifada some 15 years ago over security fears. The airport is located next to the so-called separation barrier that winds through the West Bank.
Hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers live in around 140 settlements deemed illegal under international law and by the UN because they were built on land Israel had occupied in the 1967 war.
Trump has asked the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu to 'hold off' from building further settlements, and the US President has said settlements are not 'a good thing for peace'. But Netanyahu has made it clear that settlements are not on the table in any negotiations about an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
On Monday morning, a 20-year-old female soldier was wounded in a suspected stabbing attack at the Qalandia checkpoint, north of Jerusalem in the West Bank.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby will visit the region next month, but he will not visit any Israeli settlements.
