Netanyahu Vows to Build New Housing Units in West Bank in Response to Attacks

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to promote the construction of 82 new housing units in the West Bank after two soldiers from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were killed and two others injured in a shooting attack on Thursday, Netanyahu's office said on Thursday in a statement.

"The prime minister has referred to a legal adviser with a request to take measures to make it possible to construct 82 new housing units in Ofra [settlement]. The prime minister is also promoting the project to build two new industrial zones near the settlements of Avnei Hefetz and Beitar Illit", the statement read.

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Commenting on the shooting attack, the Israeli prime minister pledged to "settle accounts with whoever did this."

The long-standing tensions between Israel and Palestine escalated in late March when Palestinians launched protest rallies at the border of Gaza.

The Israeli government refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity and continues to build settlements in the occupied areas, despite objections from the United Nations.