The Zionist authorities have given preliminary approval for the construction of more than 800 new settlements over the occupied West Bank where Palestinians seek statehood.

The Zionist authorities have given preliminary approval for the construction of more than 800 new settlements over the occupied West Bank where Palestinians seek statehood, Reuters news agency reported.

The move, announced by a Zionist official on Thursday, could complicate US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations whose second round is expected to take place next week.

The talks resumed last month after an almost three-year freeze over the settlement dispute.