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JERUSALEM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Official Israeli figures published on Wednesday showed a 40-percent increase in construction starts of the Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Over 2016, the construction of 2,630 new settlements homes was started, about 40 percent more than 2015, showed the figures by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.
According to Peace Now, an Israeli settlements watchdog, the increase marks the second highest number of construction starts over the past 15 years.
"The sharp increase in settlement construction sends a clear message to the Palestinians and to the international community that Israel is not interested in a two-state solution," the group charged.
The figures were published as an Israeli delegation was in Washington for talks with Donald Trump's administration officials over curbing the expansion of the settlements.
In February, Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should "hold back" on building new settlement "for a little bit."
Israel's settlement-building is a major dispute between Israelis and Palestinians. The settlements are illegal under international law because they are built on lands seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, where the Palestinians wish to establish their future state.
The former U.S. administration criticized Israel's continuous expansion of the settlements, which it considered as a major obstacle to peace.
