(JNS) Israel’s Defense Ministry has authorized plans for the construction of more than 2,300 homes in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, following sessions of the Civil Administration’s High Planning Subcommittee this week. The majority were approved for smaller Jewish communities as opposed to major blocs.

The permits will provide retroactive legalization to Givat Salit in the northern Jordan Valley; Ibei Hanachal in the Judean Desert southeast of Bethlehem; and Haroeh Ha’ivri east of Jerusalem, which was approved for an educational campus.

The approvals come after Israel’s security cabinet last month approved a plan to grant 715 building permits to Palestinians in Israel-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria, despite decades of policy in which Israel has limited such allowances due to the ability of Arabs to build in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas instead.

Prior to Israel’s April elections, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to annex most of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.