JERUSALEM, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Israel granted retroactive authorisation on Sunday to nine Jewish settler outposts in the occupied West Bank and announced mass-construction of new homes within established settlements, moves likely to draw U.S. opposition.
Since capturing the West Bank in a 1967 war, it has established 132 settlements, according to the Peace Now watchdog group.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's administration, whose U.S.-sponsored statehood talks with Israel broke down in 2014, said Sunday's announcement should be "condemned and rejected".
While welcoming the Netanyahu government's announcement, West Bank settler leader Yossi Dagan urged "a total removal of curbs on construction, to enable construction in full swing".
The other Palestinian territory, Gaza, is under Hamas Islamists who reject peacemaking with Israel.