The White House delivered a warning message to Israel Monday afternoon. The White House spokesman for foreign affairs and security John Kirby said in a press briefing that "We have been expressing concern to Israel for a long time about the construction in Judea and Samaria. We do not want to see actions that will make the two-state solution more difficult to achieve or actions that increase tensions."

Kirby's words were aimed, among other things, at the reports in Israel according to which Israel informed the Biden administration last week that it intends to announce later this month the promotion of the planning and construction of thousands of housing units in Samaria. According to the report, a source briefed on the details said that the Israeli intention is to announce the promotion of the planning and construction of at least 4000 housing units. Also, the Supreme Planning Council of the Civil Administration is expected to convene before the end of June to approve the advancement of the plans.

ISRAEL: Israeli officials reportedly informed the Biden administration that it intends to announce in late June the building and planning of at least 4,000 new housing units in Judea and Samaria.

— KolHaolam (@KolHaolam) June 13, 2023

It should be noted that these steps are not out of line with the agreements between the two allies this past February; with the Israeli government and the Palestinian National Authority confirming their willingness and joint commitment to act immediately to stop the unilateral measures for a period of 3-6 months. This includes an Israeli commitment to stop discussing any new settlement units for 4 months and to stop approving any outposts for 6 months. This period of no discussion on the matter has come to an end and resulted in little to no productivity in relations with the Palestinian Authority.

Meanwhile, the United States last month also condemned the decision to re-regulate the settlement of Homesh. "We are very disturbed by the Israeli government's decision to allow its residents to establish a permanent presence in the Homesh outpost - something that is inconsistent with former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's commitment to former President George Bush, and contradicts the commitments of the current Israeli government to the Biden administration.”

The Israeli government has informed the Biden administration of its intention to announce the construction and planning of thousands of new housing units in the settlements in the occupied West Bank later this month.#JordanNews #WestBank #Israelhttps://t.co/VKVxB1GM2M

— Jordan News (@jordannewsdaily) June 13, 2023

The planning institutions are expected to promote next week the construction of about 4,000 new housing units in Judea and Samaria. At this stage, the list of settlements that will be included in the significant construction plan has not yet been finalized, and the number of housing units expected to be approved in each place has not been determined. This is a construction plan that is part of a construction permit mechanism established during the previous American administration, led by President Trump.