In Israel and the Occupied Territories, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has reportedly authorized the construction of 300 new homes in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz is reporting the housing units will be built near the Talmon settlement in an outpost initially established even without Israeli government approval. The new construction would conflict with the Obama administration’s public call for a freeze on Israeli settlement expansion. President Obama, however, has refused to apply any meaningful pressure on Israel by withholding some of the billions in annual US aid. He’s also refused to call for the settlements’ complete dismantlement, even though they’re widely considered illegal under international law.