The Zionist cabinet on Sunday approved a list of more than 600 communities to receive preferential treatment and economic benefits, including nine settlements in the West Bank territories

The Zionist cabinet on Sunday approved a list of more than 600 communities to receive preferential treatment and economic benefits, including nine settlements in the West Bank territories, a statement from prime minister's office said.

The list of "National Priority Area," declared by the government, is a list of communities that are to be granted economic incentives and benefits.

The criteria to recognize a community as a "national priority area" are how close it is to the border, what security risks the settlement entails, and distance to big concentration of population.

Financially, residents living in such priority areas get tax benefits, a preference in allocation of resources and in housing and incentives to work in those areas.

The decision to put nine more settlements in this list may come in the way of the recently-renewed peace talks between the Zionist entity and the Palestinians. There are overall 30 settlements on the list.

The peace talks between both sides have previously come to a halt in 2010 over the Zionist settlement construction.

Zionist and Palestinian negotiators Tzipi Livni and Saeb Erkeat have met on Tuesday in Washington to resume peace talks, after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made efforts in the past several months to get the two sides back on the negotiations table.

Livni said on Saturday that the next round of talks will be held in the second week of August in the occupied territories.