Al-Quds City, Aug 23, SPA -- Israel approved construction plans for another 533 housing units in the West Bank, an officialsaid Monday. In the past month, Israel has announced plans to buildhundreds of other housing units in some of its largest WestBank settlements. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has made clear he plans tostrengthen large West Bank settlement blocs while pushingto withdraw from all Gaza Strip enclaves. President GeorgeW. Bush strongly supports the Gaza pullout plan, andexpressed an initial shift in U.S. settlement policy whenhe said that a final peace deal would have to take intoaccount large West Bank settlements. The Israel Lands Authority _ responsible for some WestBank lands _ has decided that contractors will be allowedto begin building 300 units next year, said Ortal Tzabar, aspokeswoman for the authority. The contractors will have three years to complete theconstruction, she added.--SPA1148 Local Time 0848 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/194256