Israeli authorities intend to build a new settlement city in the north-west part of the West Bank, which already has a number of settlements scattered throughout the area.

Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot reported on Sunday that a special committee, formed by the Israeli Ministry of Interior, has recommended the unification of several local authorities based in settlements in the West Bank, by placing them within one new settlement city that has the potential to be expanded.

The newspaper quoted the Yesha Council - an umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in the West Bank - as saying that the settlement city would consist of three settlements unified within a single city, in order to allow settlement construction in the areas between them, which wasn’t possible before now.

Israeli settling in the West Bank has always been a controversial issue as it is illegal, according to international law, and also opposed by the Palestinian Authority and many members of the international community.