An Israel's settlement area under construction in the West Bank. (Photo: EPA/VNA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that his government has done more than all its predecessors to boost Jewish settlement. He spoke as he laid the foundation stone for a new neighborhood in Beitar Illit, the Israeli-occupied West Bank's biggest settlement with a population of 50,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews. Mr. Netanyahu mentioned “the holy land” many Jews claim belongs to them, but confirmed his support for a 2-state solution.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will pay his first visit since taking the UN helm to Israel and the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, at the end of this month.