Zionist authorities have approved 560 new units for the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim, a spokesman for the settlement said Monday, in a move likely to further raise tensions in the occupied territories.

Zionist authorities have approved 560 new units for the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim, a spokesman for the settlement said Monday, in a move likely to further raise tensions in the occupied territories.

The Maale Adumim mayor was on Sunday night officially informed of the decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman to allow the planning of the units in the settlement east of al-Quds (Jerusalem), the spokesman told AFP.

According to media reports, Netanyahu also gave approval for the planning of 240 new settlement units  in east al-Quds neighborhoods, as well as for 600 units for Palestinians in the city's Beit Safafa district.

The offices of Netanyahu and Lieberman refused to comment on the reports of the approvals for units in east al-Quds or Maale Adumim.