West Bank (QNN)- The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered on Thursday to hold a meeting for the higher council for planning and construction in order to approve the construction of 5000 new settlement units in the West Bank, reported the Israeli channel seven. The channel reported that the new settlements will be constructed in several illegal settlements in the West Bank. The new decision comes seven months after a settlement freeze. It added that Netanyahu's decision was pushed by settlers' threats to go in angry protests against the settlement freeze. Peace Now, a monitoring group that opposes the settlements, said that the Israeli average annual construction rate has risen 25% since President Donald Trump took office in 2017. With nearly 500,000 settlers now living in the West Bank, and more than 220,000 more in east Jerusalem, the Palestinians have been losing more lands and being pushed away from their homes to be replaced by illegal European settlers.