Israel approves establishment of 40 new housing units

Israel''s military establishment has approved the establishment of a new, permanent neighborhood and a farm near the West Bank settlement of Efrat, Israeli daily (Haaretz) reported Monday. According to Haaretz, the plan for the neighborhood was approved by Defense Minister Ehud Barak. It calls for building 40 single-family homes on Givat Hadagan, replacing the trailer park on this site at the northern edge of Efrat. The projects will go beyond the community''s current built-up area, constituting an effective expansion of the Etzion Bloc of settlements toward the north and north-east. After they are completed, Jewish settlement in northern Gush Etzion will reach the edges of Bethlehem''s southernmost suburbs, the Israeli daily said.