Israel has approved 560 new homes for the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim, a spokesman for the settlement said Monday, in a move likely to raise tensions following a series of Palestinian attacks.

The Maale Adumim mayor was on Sunday night officially informed of the decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman to allow the planning of the homes in the settlement east of Jerusalem, the spokesman told AFP.

The decision follows calls among Israelis for a harsh response to a series of Palestinian attacks in the occupied West Bank in recent days.